"Experts meet in Bangkok this week to advance what would be the first international treaty to tackle the surging problem of plastic pollution. Final treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November.
Yet most of the people who have been closely tracking the negotiations — environmentalists, tribal leaders and residents from communities hard-hit by plastic production and waste — are shut out of the talks in Bangkok.
Many plastic industry representatives say they can’t get into the room either.
In a series of letters to the United Nations Environment Programme, the meeting sponsor, hundreds of organizations said the closure runs counter to typical international environmental treaty-making. They said meeting coordinators have a responsibility to be transparent and allow public participation. They worry the approach in Bangkok could set a bad precedent."
Jennifer McDermott reports for the Associated Press August 20, 2024.
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