By Roan Snyman, Circular Economy Expert Analyst and SA Plastics Pact co-lead at GreenCape
I arrived back from Canada last Wednesday, and I’ve had some time to reflect about a very eventful trip to Ottawa for INC-4 (The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, took place from 23 to 29 April 2024 at the Shaw Center in Ottawa, Canada.)
On my way there I transited through Dubai International Airport, right after the largest storm that the UAE has had in 75 years. The airport recorded 119 millimeters of rainfall on 16 April, which is 1.5 times its average annual rainfall. This resulted in more than 1 400 cancelled flights, and 30 000 pieces of stranded luggage (One of which was mine).
I thought it might be interesting to contrast my experience at the airport with INC-4 and the process of developing a Global Treaty to address plastic pollution. These two things are, of course, not directly comparable; one is an unprecedented weather event, the other is an intractable global challenge that has been with us for a very long time. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to draw some parallels. Keep in mind, I’m in no way an expert on airports or global negotiations, this post is simply a reflection of my own personal experiences.
Whenever there is a crisis, there is the event itself, and then there is our reaction to this event. Sometimes this reaction can exacerbate an already complicated situation. By the time I arrived in Dubai there was no longer a drop of water in sight, but the airport was still in chaos. Complete pandemonium. People sleeping on every surface. Huddled groups congregated throughout the airport, expressing the range of human emotions – frustration, anger, denial, disbelief and sadness. It was clear that things were not as they should be.
The following is my attempt to draw the parallels in my experience of the two events:
- Recognizing the problem: Even if the severity of the storm was underestimated at first, it was something not seen in Dubai for 75 years (since records began). That’s 11 years before the airport was first opened, and as such it was an unexpected and unprecedented event. Plastic pollution is different; the problem is not new or unexpected. It has been around for a long time, but global interest has only peaked in the recent past. The issue has not really been about recognizing the problem, but about reaching a consensus on how to address it. With the multitude of stakeholders with entrenched interests involved, reaching agreement has been an uphill challenge.
- Communication: I had no idea what waited for me in Dubai. In hindsight I would have changed my flight if I knew I would have a 22-hour delay and a lost bag. Staff had little capacity to engage with thousands of frustrated people at one time. None of the travelers I met knew what to do or where to go. Generally, people had to figure things out for themselves, which involved congregating in large numbers around service desks, where new boarding passes were being issued. There were individual airport staff members that went above and beyond to help travelers, but individuals can only do so much if they are working in a system that doesn’t allow for substantive action. Similarly, communication in the plastic space is confusing and contradictory at the best of times. It can be very difficult for consumers and companies to understand the best course of action to address the issue at hand. It is just about impossible to navigate this complex space, without clear information and guidance. Doing impactful can be very difficult in a landscape characterized by confusion and miscommunication.
- Processes and systems: The impact of the thousands of stranded travelers clearly overwhelmed the systems at the airport. There were not nearly enough staff and security to deal with everyone. I was in the queue (more of a “scrum”) for 15 hours to get a new boarding pass. Once you were in the scrum, there was no getting out of it. It was not possible to leave to get water, or food, or access to the bathroom, as you would not be able to get back to your spot. Other people were there for days and received new boarding passes for flights that were subsequently cancelled, and they had to queue again. Eventually airport staff introduced a manual ticketing system by writing down numbers on scraps of paper. This system had loopholes, and I managed to barter and trade my way up from number 88 to 26. The system was also not fully implemented, as not all the staff agreed to this new process, and eventually it was abandoned altogether. In the plastics space there are a host of different ways that the problem has been approached – from voluntary initiatives to mandatory EPR systems, as well as bans, taxes and other regulatory mechanisms. These are often implemented very differently in different countries. It has been a mixed bag of interventions, some impactful while others missing the mark. There are loopholes, which exacerbates the difficulty of solving an already complex problem. It is not an even playing field, which detracts from the positive work that is happening in some areas.
- Speed of reaction: even when considering how long it felt standing in the queue, one has to recognize how quickly the problem was addressed. Thousands of people were stranded, but a few days later the airport functioned normally (only to be hit by another storm a few weeks later). The efforts taken by staff at the airport is commendable, even if there were some failures along the way. In contrast, the speed of reaction to address plastic pollution has been immensely slow. This reflects how complex the problem is, but also the different competing interests and local complexities. There is no easy road to solve this problem quickly without potentially having other unforeseen negative consequences.
- Measures of mitigation: I have no doubt that the airport has had significant learnings and likely will be better prepared for weather related crises in the future. In the plastic space, this is precisely what is being decided through the INC process. How to move toward solving a globally significant problem characterized by complex variables, interests and a multitude of stakeholders. There are no simple solutions here and there is not one approach that will meet the expectations of all stakeholders.
So what does the future hold? There is a global collaborative effort underway; 170 states
participated in INC-4, including more than 2 500 delegates and 480 observer organizations. The scale of the collaboration is massive, not to mention the range of voluntary efforts that have been going on for some time, such as the Global Plastics Pact Network. We don’t know yet how ambitious the treaty will be, but if it allows for a level playing field, with clarity in language, clear identification of the problem, globally agreed rules, and an internationally unified approach for intervention and mitigation, then we are starting to solve a problem that has been intractable for a very long time.
Like standing in a queue for 15 hours, every step forward is a step in the right direction.
Small steps can shift systems.
Roan’s trip to INC-4 was made possible thanks to generous support from WRAP. During the trip Roan was also able to connect with a number of WRAP staff.
Roan also took a few days off after the conference to explore Canada, which included a trip to the famous Niagara Falls near Toronto.
