PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Progress is being made in the drafting of an international agreement to curb plastic waste. In the second round of negotiations of the UN Plastics Agreement in Paris, almost 170 countries agreed to submit a legally binding draft agreement by the next conference in Kenya. This was announced by the UN on Saturday after the end of the meeting.

Environmentalists say that doesn't go far enough. "In the end, they were only able to agree on a minimal compromise, all negotiations that were difficult in terms of content were postponed yet again after endless delaying tactics by the plastics lobby," said Viola Wohlgemuth, an expert on resource conservation at Greenpeace. Saudi Arabia, China and the U.S. in particular, together with the petrochemical industry, have done everything they can to undermine an effective global agreement, she said.

According to UN figures, plastic pollution is increasing rapidly. Without countermeasures, the amount of plastic waste in oceans and other waters could more than double from about 9 to 14 million tons annually in 2016 to a projected 23 to 37 million tons per year by 2040, according to the report.

By 2024, therefore, the UN aims to develop a convention setting out binding rules and measures that address the entire life cycle of plastic. The Paris meeting was the second of five rounds of intergovernmental negotiations for a global agreement. It was attended by UN member states as well as non-governmental organizations, scientists and trade unions./rew/DP/mis