Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Dr. Musadik Malik, has called for sweeping global reforms to address the plastic pollution crisis, warning that developing countries are being unfairly burdened by waste they did not produce. Speaking at the Informal Ministerial Dialogue on “Investment Opportunities for a Circular Economy” during the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2) in Geneva, Dr. Malik highlighted stark inequalities in global consumption and waste disposal. Wealthy nations, he said, use plastics “up to 20 times more” than many developing countries and then export low-value, contaminated, or non-recyclable waste under the guise of recycling. Without advanced facilities, this waste is often dumped in landfills, burned in communities, or pollutes waterways, harming air, soil, and public health. “In Western Europe, the average person uses 150 kilograms of plastic annually, compared to just 7 kilograms in Pakistan,” he said. “Our people are paying the price for a problem they did not create. We cannot allow the plastic crisis to become yet another injustice for the Global South.” Dr. Malik proposed two measures for inclusion in the Global Plastic Treaty. First, an Extended Consumer Responsibility framework would tie responsibility to consumption levels.
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