At a meeting ahead of formal talks next month, U.S. officials clarified their opposition to efforts to reduce plastics production.

After flip-flopping on positions on plastics at the UN during the Biden Administration, the U.S. said it does not support provisions that would regulate the supply side of plastics or feedstocks, mainly oil and gas, used in its manufacturing, Climate Home News reported July 4.  

The news outlet reported on a statement from the U.S. that added on areas without a “level of convergence” – including plastic production – action should be left to “country-level discretion”.

The U.S. is the world’s second-largest plastics producer and issued the statement at an informal meeting in Nairobi ahead of UN plastics treaty talks in Geneva next month. The country’s stance mirrors those of other fossil fuel producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia.

“We support an agreement that focuses on efforts that will lead to reducing plastic pollution, not on stopping the use of plastics,” the statement reads, according to Climate Home News.