By Valerie Volcovici

(Reuters) – The United States is joining talks to create a global agreement on plastic pollution reduction, U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken announced on Thursday. This was the first time that it has supported this initiative.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which predicts that plastic pollution will double by 2040, is adding between 23 and 37 million tonnages of waste annually into the oceans.

Blinken announced that the U.S. will be joining talks in the UN Environmental Assembly, (UNEA) on February 20, 2022 to protect oceans from the “growing international harms of plastic pollution”, as the country produces more plastic waste than any other.

“It is vital that this agreement calls on all countries to implement and enforce strong national actions plans to deal with the problem from its source. In a speech, Blinken spoke at the UN Environment Programme’s ocean plastic waste conference in Nairobi.

The United States hasn’t yet taken a formal position regarding the multilateral UNEA Treaty.

This is the country that remains outside of the Basel Convention 2018 on Waste. It would also tighten regulations around plastic waste being dumped in developing countries.

The administration of President Joe Biden quickly moved to be a part of the Paris Agreement, despite the fact that former President Trump pulled U.S. support. However, they have not changed their position on the Basel amend.

Meanwhile, plastic production – which industry analysts forecast to double by 2040 – will be the biggest growth market for oil demand over the next decade, the Paris-based International Energy Agency forecasts.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its first National Recycling Strategy this week. It aims to increase the recycling rate nationwide by 50% by 2030 from 10% currently.

Industries groups oppose local and national attempts to ban single-use plastic production and support policies that make plastic producers accountable for their waste.