来自中国和美国的研究人员针对全球塑料公约谈判和未来实施过程中存在的数据基础薄弱问题，提出建立覆盖塑料全生命周期的标准化国家报告体系。

当前全球塑料治理缺乏统一、强制的数据披露和国家报告体系，导致塑料全生命周期数据在统计范围、产业分类、贸易追踪、化学添加剂和废物管理等方面存在显著缺口，制约全球塑料公约的科学决策与履约成效评估。针对上述问题，研究人员提出建立覆盖塑料全生命周期的统一国家报告体系，形成四类基础数据支柱，包括塑料生产与贸易，统一分类并覆盖树脂、合成纤维、原生及再生塑料；塑料中化学品，报告添加剂总量及阻燃剂、增塑剂等主要类别；塑料产品使用，统计重点行业塑料用量、比例和产品寿命；塑料废物管理，统一报告回收、焚烧、填埋及环境泄漏等去向，并规范回收率等指标定义。研究认为，全球塑料公约不一定要求所有国家立即开展完整的塑料物质流分析，而应首先建立一套最低限度、统一且可比较的基础数据报告制度，再利用这些数据支持全球和国家尺度的模型分析与履约评估。

此篇名为《Bridging data gaps to support the Global Plastics Treaty》的文章被在线发表于2026年7月的《Science》期刊。

 

Bridging data gaps to support the Global Plastics Treaty

Researchers from China and the US proposed establishing a standardized national reporting framework covering the entire plastics life cycle to address data gaps in the negotiations and future implementation of the Global Plastics Treaty.

The abstract is as follows:

In 2022, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) began developing an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on ending plastic pollution. After five sessions, originally planned to culminate in INC-5.2 in August 2025, member states compromised extensively on contentious issues but failed to achieve consensus. An additional session is scheduled for March 2027 to advance the instrument. Adoption of the treaty will mark only the initial phase of global efforts to combat plastic pollution. Robust data are essential at every stage of this journey to map out and implement actionable solutions: negotiating scientific data-based measures, conducting effectiveness evaluations, and establishing standardized global data systems with scientific and societal value. Yet the INC-5.2 chair’s text fails to prioritize binding data disclosure obligations. We provide national reporting recommendations for the ILBI, outlining data harmonization, metrics along the supply chain, and pollution hotspot identification to support treaty implementation and evaluation. Although there are still substantial disagreements regarding ILBI provisions on primary plastics production, which is the main reason for the lack of agreement on INC-5.2, the international community remains confident to reach consensus for a treaty. There are several key reasons why the ILBI under negotiation must integrate mandatory data disclosure requirements. Because unsustainable plastic production and consumption are central drivers of plastic pollution, reliable assessments of relevant production and consumption are the foundation of effective restrictive policy. Also, national data currently focus on municipal plastic waste, lacking sector-specific coverage and implementation metrics. Bridging data gaps entails both connecting and standardizing existing data systems where possible, as well as supporting the generation of foundational data where gaps remain, particularly in countries lacking basic and essential information on plastics production, consumption, and fate. Additionally, making the heterogeneity of data related to plastic pollution transparent could facilitate benchmarking between countries by stakeholders, such as the scientific community, which could be an important driver for sustained reductions in plastic pollution.

 

Link:https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea6562