On 1 November 2024, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea, in partnership with the National Assembly Forum on Climate Change (NAFCC), hosted a seminar to explore ways to combat global plastic pollution through enhanced international collaboration on effective policies and strong legal frameworks.

The seminar was an activity under the EU-Korea Green Partnership, which was established in 2023 to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

The seminar took place in the run-up to the 5^th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting in Busan from 25 November to 1 December 2024 and brought together policymakers, diplomats, industry leaders, NGOs, environmental experts and students.

Jeoung-ae HAN, Member of the National Assembly and Co-chair of the NAFCC commented: “The international community is aware of the gravity of plastic pollution, and we need to come up with a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution”.

Maria Castillo Fernandez, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Korea, said “This is a very timely discussion as Korea will soon take a leading role in the upcoming negotiations. The EU stands ready to work closely with Korea to develop an ambitious global plastics treaty that will safeguard our planet for future generations”.

Global plastic waste is increasing dramatically. According to the UN, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could nearly triple from some 9–14 million tonnes per year in 2016 to a projected 23–37 million tonnes per year by 2040, under a business-as-usual scenario and in the absence of necessary measures.

The talks in Busan will be pivotal for establishing new global standards for managing plastic pollution comprehensively through a lifecycle approach and for ensuring that countries adopt circular economy principles that prioritise environmental health and sustainability.

Gye Yoen CHO, Deputy Director-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provided a detailed overview of the progress and status of the UN Plastics Treaty negotiations and highlighted some of the thorny issues to be further discussed in Busan, including managing primary plastic polymers, addressing chemicals of concerns and problematic plastics, establishing design and performance standards, and ensuring financial and technical support for developing countries.

During the seminar, representatives of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Korea presented key EU policy frameworks under the overarching Circular Economy Action Plan aiming at maintaining the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible and at minimising the generation of waste. The European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy and the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) are in place to improve the economics and quality of recycling as well as at curbing waste and littering, and to ban single-use plastic products like straws, cutlery and plates where sustainable alternative are easily available and affordable.

The seminar concluded with a panel discussion moderated by KIM Il-chung of the NAFCC, which brought together experts from the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association, the Embassy of Finland, and Veolia Korea, among others, to discuss solutions in curbing plastic waste and enhancing recycling.

A notable recommendation from industry representatives was to foster EU-Korean cooperation on developing internationally recognised circular economy certification and tractability systems.

Contacts

Ms Ahee KIM

Press & Public Information Officer
Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea
[email protected]

Mr Jingyu OH
Team Leader
EU-RoK Green Partnership Programme
[email protected]

Ms Oriane LEMAIRE
Key Outreach Expert
EU-RoK Green Partnership Programme
[email protected]