After the previous three rounds proved contentious and did not make the progress many hoped for, diplomats on the stage all said they wanted this round in Canada to make substantial progress to allow them to finish a treaty by the end of 2024.
Fernandez said at the conference hall filled with diplomats and observers that countries should pursue an agreement that can be adopted by many, then work to strengthen it later, even if it makes some unhappy.
He said the U.S. has three priorities: effective universal obligations through the life cycle of plastic, allowing country-specific enabling of the agreement and including major producer and consumer countries.
"Some will say that's not enough. Some may say we need to ban plastics completely," he said. "But the ambition of this agreement will be limited if only a small percentage of consumers and producers of the world are able to implement it.
"The issue is that plastics is not just a product, it's a material that's woven into our health care systems, into our economies, into our trade, into our domestic and foreign policies," he said. "To eliminate plastic pollution we have to look at ways to reduce the use, improve recycling and find alternative materials and processes in order to reduce the demand."
He said the U.S. supports a treaty that can be strengthened over time, as he noted political limitations in the U.S., as well as technological limitations with alternative materials.
"We aim to be an honest broker in this process and that starts with being honest about our own limitations at home, which include federal authorities … and the fact that the science is not there yet on developing sustainable alternatives to plastic materials," he said.
"We hope, again, we reach an agreement that most countries can implement, especially those who carry the most responsibility such as ourselves."
He suggested overcoming differences that marred previous rounds could be challenges.
"One of the biggest obstacles from our perspective will be to ensure that we work hard to bridge differences between countries in order to keep negotiations constructive and on track," Fernandez said.
But other countries on stage at the conference, organized by the government of Canada, were more direct in outlining priorities.
An official from the European Union said the treaty should address product design, minimum levels of recycled content, EPR and lists of problematic plastic products.
Maros Sefcovic, executive vice president of the European Commission, said the treaty also must address the "very visible link" between rising levels of plastics production and rising plastic pollution.
"This is a reality that we believe the plastics treaty cannot afford to overlook," he said.
Spain's minister for environmental transition, Teresa Ribera, spoke about fees on some plastic products without recycled content, and called for measures in the treaty to address plastic pellet spills like a freighter that lost six cargo containers of plastic pellets that then washed up on the Spanish coast in December.
At a news conference, Inger Andersen, the head of the UN Environment Programme, which organizes the talks, and Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of environment and climate change, said they saw consensus emerging around EPR and recycled-content mandates, among other areas.
In a speech, Andersen presented 10 points the treaty should address, including chemicals of concern within plastics and supporting more reusable packaging, as well as investing in waste management and recycling.
But she also told the conference that many short-lived plastic applications need to be redesigned and rethought, even as plastic will be needed for many other applications.
"We continue to need this material, but we need to be very deliberate in where and how we use it," she said. "This material will help us build lighter and more fuel-efficient cars, ships and planes. It's a critical ingredient in construction and electrical appliances, in the construction of windmills and so much more."
