As 180 nations gather in Geneva to negotiate a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty, India finds itself in a deeply conflicted position defending its rapidly growing petrochemical industry while grappling with the environmental damage it is causing at home.
India has joined ranks with countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia in opposing any treaty provisions that would impose production caps on plastic polymers or restrict toxic chemicals used in plastic manufacturing. Instead, India has pushed for the treaty to focus only on waste management, not curbing production.
But the stakes are high. If the treaty passes in its current form supported by over 106 of the 180 nations present it would require binding international rules to reduce not just plastic pollution, but the very production of plastics and their harmful ingredients. For India, this could derail its petrochemical ambitions.
The Dahej petrochemical zone in Gujarat India richest industrial region symbolizes this dilemma. It is home to over 180 functional and 650 under-construction units, producing chemicals, plastics, and petrochemical products. But for local fishing communities, it is ground zero of ecological devastation.
“Fish, prawns, crabs they’re disappearing. We’ve lost our livelihood to toxic discharge from the factories, and now we are forced to work in the same plants that destroyed our sea,” said Usman Gani Sherasiya, secretary of Samast Machimar Samaj, a non-profit working with Gujarat’s traditional ‘pagadia’ fisherfolk.
Dahej’s emissions are now leaching microplastics into the Arabian Sea, affecting marine life and entering the human food chain. According to experts, microplastics can mimic hormones, impair fertility, damage the nervous system, and even cause cancer.
Yet, India is reluctant to impose controls. With the petrochemical market projected to hit $300 billion by the end of 2025, up from $220 billion, officials argue that tightening restrictions could hamper economic growth and export potential.
According to Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh of the Centre for Science & Environment, 67% of India’s petrochemical capacity is used to produce plastics, further binding its economy to this polluting industry.
India has proposed a multilateral transition fund for developing countries in the treaty but remains opposed to phasing out problematic plastics, like single-use items, despite an official ban since 2019 that is weakly enforced.
Globally, plastic pollution is spiraling. The world produces 400 million tonnes of plastic annually, 280 million of which becomes waste. Only 9% has ever been recycled. Marine litter, microplastics, and toxic additives have become a planetary health hazard, with over 4,200 identified chemicals, many of them carcinogenic.
The Geneva talks, formally known as INC 5.2, are the sixth round of negotiations since the UN Environment Assembly 2022 resolution to end plastic pollution across its lifecycle from production to disposal.
If the treaty is adopted, India may have to rewrite domestic laws, restructure its petrochemical industry, and clean up its act in regions like Dahej. But until then, its stance reflects a brutal economic-environmental trade-off: protect industry, or protect health and heritage.
For now, fisherfolk, scientists, and environmentalists wait hoping the talks don’t drown, like their livelihoods, in toxic plastic politics.