Fossil fuel and chemical industries’ interests are influencing India’s positions in various multilateral environmental and trade agreements related to climate, plastics, and chemicals.
India announced a 20 per cent capacity expansion over the next five years, ostensibly to meet the demand from the transportation and energy sectors. Its thirst for fossil fuels is spurring a refining boom, despite the decline in the US and Europe and the world being poised to peak oil production. Concurrently, the world is also progressing towards a Global Plastics Treaty (GPT) and a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The GPT is an opportunity to bring about systemic change: reduce petrochemicals, phase out hazardous plastic chemicals and polymers, and promote the development of non-plastic alternatives. However, India is undermining the negotiations by suggesting (Part A, Part B) that there should be “no binding targets/caps with respect to the production of plastic polymers.”
