Will there be an agreement that goes beyond the interests of the 'International Plastic Convention'?

[Anchor]
The Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee for the signing of the International Plastic Convention will be held from the 25th.

The seriousness of environmental problems caused by plastic is acknowledged by the world, but negotiations are unlikely to be easy because individual countries' interests are at stake.

Reporter Kim Joo-young reports.

[Reporter]
From toys that children play with, coffee containers that they drink every day, and various household items, there is no place around us where plastic is not used.

There is even an analysis that global annual plastic production has nearly doubled since 2000.Only 9% of used plastic products

are recycled and much of them are incinerated or thrown away randomly, adversely affecting the environment.

This is why the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee in Busan is drawing attention.

Representatives from 175 countries will gather at the committee, whose core goal is to create binding international agreements on reducing plastic production, strengthening recycling and waste management measures.

The committee has been held four times before, and this is the last time, the important issue is whether to regulate the production of polymers, which are plastic raw materials, or focus solely on waste management.

It is not easy to solve whether to set global goals for reducing plastic production.

The position is sharply divided depending on the situation of each country, such as plastic production, high consumption, or oil-producing or developing countries.

[Hong Soo-yeol / Director of Resource Circulation Social Economy Research Institute (last June): Objectively, I think it is very unclear (whether to agree or not). Oil-producing countries are very strong....]

Ahead of this meeting, various events were held to urge plastic reduction, such as making handbags using waste banners or fabric softeners without microplastics.

I'm Kim Joo-young of YTN.