An ‘ambitious’ global plastic treaty demands limits: Guilbeault [Video]

A global treaty to end plastic waste will not be ambitious enough if it does not include some limits on plastic production, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Tuesday as the fourth round of negotiations kicked off in Ottawa.

The scientific evidence shows that reducing the amount of plastic that’s produced is the only way to keep it out of the environment, not to mention what the world eats, drinks and breathes, environmental groups say.

One of them, Greenpeace, wants the agreement to include a 75 per cent reduction in plastic production by 2040.

• Top climate and environment headlines, all in one place

Companies that make plastic argue there is no need for caps, because alternatives to plastics are often more expensive and energy-intensive. The issue bogged down discussions at the last treaty negotiation session in Kenya last fall.

Guilbeault has been hesitant to take a specific position on the call for production caps, worried that being too prescriptive before …