Images | Depositphotos
Over 70 countries are set to call for targets to reduce plastic production and consumption worldwide to combat marine pollution in a joint statement to be issued at the U.N. Ocean Conference this week, a source related to the matter said Monday,
Kyodo reported.
Japan is not expected to back the statement, which will be issued by various European and Pacific island nations at the conference running Monday through Friday in the southeastern French city of Nice.
Middle Eastern countries and others that produce petroleum, a raw resource used to manufacture plastics, have also opposed manufacturing restrictions and are expected to forego backing the statement.
An estimated over 8 million tons of plastic waste is washed into the world's oceans every year. Concerns have also grown over microplastics that end up in the ocean and enter the bodies of marine organisms, which in turn could impact human health if they are consumed.
Negotiations on the creation of an international treaty will also resume in Switzerland in August, but the lack of countries onboard with the statement has highlighted the difficulty of reaching a consensus on manufacturing regulations, the biggest focus of the negotiations.
At the previous round of talks held in South Korea from November to December, participating nations could not reach an agreement on manufacturing restrictions.
The joint statement will additionally call for mandatory reporting of manufacturing, and import and export volumes in order to achieve the reduction targets.
France, which leads support for the regulations, is touting the joint statement as a "historic opportunity."
Japan has opted not to be named in the joint statement, stating that it wants an agreement that includes as many countries as possible and avoids fragmentation.
But environmental groups have criticized Japan, saying that it should clarify its stance in order to make the treaty effective.
