Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Familiar impasse: On the global response to eliminating plastic pollution

​Familiar impasse: On the global response to eliminating plastic pollution

Talks on limiting use of plastic must be built on mutual trust

Global resistance to a universal treaty on eliminating plastic pollution remains stubborn (हठी, ज़िद्दी) and huge. Last week, the sixth attempt since 2022 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to get member-nations to agree upon a treaty to address plastic pollution ran into the familiar vortex of opposition. There was disagreement among the major blocs of countries on whether comprehensively addressing plastic pollution requires eliminating plastic production itself. All countries agree that the ubiquitous (सर्वव्यापी) polythene bag, despite its immense practicability and affordability as a container, has ballooned into a civic crisis. India generates around 3.4 million tonnes (MT) of plastic waste but recycles only about 30%. Its plastic consumption rose at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% from 14 MT in 2016-17 to over 20 MT in 2019-20. India has a production ban on about 20 single-use plastic items — cups, straws, spoons. While this has, to some extent, induced a degree of behavioural (व्यवहार संबंधी) change — in greater reliance (भरोसा, निर्भरता) of paper and cloth bags — it has had little impact on waste management and recycling. This is also reflective of the global picture. According to the UNEP, the world produces more than 430 MT of plastic annually, two-thirds of which are short-lived products that soon become waste. Overall, 46% of plastic waste is landfilled, while 22% is mismanaged and becomes litter. In 2019, plastic, which is a derivate of fossilised crude, generated 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions or about 3.4% of the global total.

Plastic, therefore, can be seen as a waste management problem that can be solved by improving incentives (प्रोत्साहन) for the market to do a better job of collecting waste and recycling. However, there are countries that point to the decades of attempts made on these lines, with limited gains. To add to that, more evidence has piled up that plastic, non-biodegradable as it is, is making its way into human, animal and marine food systems. Island-nations and territories are swamped by plastic waste washing up on their shores. Then there are granular (Consisting of small grains or particles; detailed) forms of plastic — or microplastics — with potential for harm. Thus, the only real solution is to reduce at source. However, nations are not all agreed upon this aspect of toxicity. Therefore, in treaty-linked talks, they view calls to cut production as tactics (चाल, रणनीति) to impose trade barriers and add to the general climate of tariff uncertainty. Unless countries can build greater trust before such talks and hear each other out with an open mind, having more meetings will only be futile (व्यर्थ, निष्फल). The halcyon (सुखद, शांतिपूर्ण) days, when some countries could steer resolutions on the environment assuming that the ‘common good’ was incontrovertible (निर्विवाद, असंदिग्ध), are long past.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Impasse (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - गतिरोध, ठहराव
English Meaning - A situation where no progress is possible; deadlock.

2.Stubborn (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - हठी, ज़िद्दी
English Meaning - Unwilling to change opinion or attitude; obstinate.

3.Ubiquitous (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सर्वव्यापी
English Meaning - Present, appearing, or found everywhere.

4.Behavioural (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - व्यवहार संबंधी
English Meaning - Relating to the way a person or animal acts.

5.Reliance (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - भरोसा, निर्भरता
English Meaning - Dependence on or trust in someone or something.

6.Incentive (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रोत्साहन
English Meaning - A thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something.

7.Tactic (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - चाल, रणनीति
English Meaning - An action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a goal.

8.Incontrovertible (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - निर्विवाद, असंदिग्ध
English Meaning - Impossible to deny or dispute; undeniable.

9.Halcyon (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - सुखद, शांतिपूर्ण
English Meaning - Denoting a period of time that was idyllically happy and peaceful.

10.Futile (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - व्यर्थ, निष्फल
English Meaning - Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.

11.Biodegradable (Adjective)

English Meaning - Capable of being decomposed naturally by bacteria or organisms.

12.Granular (Noun)

English Meaning - Consisting of small grains or particles; detailed.