On Friday, August 15, the United Nations global convention on plastic pollution has come to a laughable and unsurprising end. It neither managed to produce any binding treaty on how to deal with the ever growing issue of global plastic pollution, nor did its UN member states come any closer to understanding that the profit motive of the global capitalist system runs contrary to both the immediate and long-term well-being of the human race.
The populations of the Global South are suffering the most from the catastrophic environmental damage dealt to the planet by ruthless capitalist exploitation of its resources. Their cities and coasts are covered in toxic garbage, the majority of which comes from around the world. However, instead of financing local grass-roots projects that fight plastic pollution or banning plastic production in the rich countries first, UN member states decided to waste money and time on yet another useless international convention.
Although a majority of countries reportedly sought so seek an agreement, all efforts were blocked by powerful oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United States, as well as the plastic lobby, proving once again that capitalist imperialism does not allow for international democracy. China, the self-proclaimed “socialist” country, despite lamenting the outcome of the convention, can’t think of anything better than hoping for “better luck” next time. But quite frankly, there is no time to wait for another chance. Capitalism, the capitalist states, and their global institutions have failed us.
It is now time to for the people — especially the most exploited victims of all the worst aspects of capitalism and imperialism in the so-called Third World — to stand up and rush to the rescue of our dying planet. It is time to forge a global movement outside the official institutions of power to reform this rotten system.
Sources
Plastic pollution treaty talks adjourn, but countries want to ‘remain at the table’: UNEP chief. UN News. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20250816080522/https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165658
Plastic pollution talks fail as negotiators in Geneva reject draft treaties. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20250815190656/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/15/plastic-pollution-talks-geneva-treaty
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