The Zero Waste Forum and the road to COP31 at Antalya: Can India embrace zero waste as climate action?

The Zero Waste Forum convened in Antalya, Türkiye, in late 2024 emerged as a pivotal civil society and UNEP-backed preparatory dialogue ahead of COP31 — the 31st Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC, scheduled for 2026 in Australia. While Antalya will not host COP31, the forum strategically positioned itself to reframe global climate discourse by elevating "zero waste" from a municipal sanitation concern to a systemic climate, resource efficiency, and production strategy. This shift is profound: traditionally, waste management has been treated as a local governance issue under Entry 17 of the State List (public health and sanitation) in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. However, the Antalya Forum argued that waste — especially plastic and petrochemical-derived waste — is intrinsically linked to fossil fuel extraction, industrial production models, and greenhouse gas emissions across the lifecycle, thus demanding integration into national climate action plans under Article 4.2 of the Paris Agreement. India stands at a critical juncture. On one hand, it has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 (announced at COP26, Glasgow) and updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in 2022 to reduce emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels. On the other, the government's "Petrochemical Mission" targets a $300 billion industry by 2025, with massive investments in cracker complexes, polymer parks, and downstream plastic manufacturing — directly contradicting the zero-waste principle of source reduction and circular design. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 (amended in 2022 and 2024) emphasize Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), recycling targets, and single-use plastic bans, but remain anchored in end-of-pipe management rather than redesigning production systems. This recycling-centric approach fails to address the root cause: overproduction of virgin plastics fueled by cheap fossil feedstocks. Key stakeholders include the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), NITI Aayog (which drafted the National Circular Economy Framework), state pollution control boards, urban local bodies (ULBs) under the 74th Constitutional Amendment, and the informal waste-picker sector — recognized under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, but still lacking social security. Internationally, India negotiates at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for a Global Plastics Treaty, where it has resisted binding caps on plastic production, aligning with petrochemical interests. The Antalya Forum, backed by GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives), Zero Waste Europe, and UNEP, challenged this stance, urging nations to adopt "zero waste" as a climate mitigation strategy under Article 4.1 of the Paris Agreement. Constitutionally, the subject intersects multiple domains: Article 48A (Directive Principle on environmental protection), Article 51A(g) (fundamental duty to protect environment), and Article 21 (right to life, interpreted by the Supreme Court in *M.C. Mehta v. Union of India* to include a clean environment). The 73rd and 74th Amendments devolve waste management to Panchayats and Municipalities, but without fiscal autonomy or technical capacity, implementation remains weak. The Forum's call for "zero waste as climate action" aligns with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), and resonates with India's LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) Mission launched at COP27. Economically, transitioning to a circular economy could unlock $624 billion in annual value by 2050 (per NITI Aayog-Ellen MacArthur Foundation study), but requires phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, investing in reuse-refill infrastructure, and formalizing the informal recycling sector. Politically, resistance from petrochemical lobbies and state governments reliant on industrial tax revenues poses challenges. Socially, a just transition for millions of waste pickers is non-negotiable. Looking ahead, COP31 in 2026 will likely see pressure to integrate waste-sector emissions into the Global Stocktake (GST) process. India must decide whether to defend its petrochemical trajectory or pivot to a production-side circular economy — a choice that will define its climate credibility, industrial future, and environmental justice.