International legally binding agreement on plastics
Type
International treaty
UN Member States are currently negotiating a legally-binding, international agreement on plastics that will address the entire life cycle of plastics, from design to production and disposal. On March 2, 2022, UN Member States voted at the resumed fifth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) with the mandate of advancing a legally-binding international agreement on plastics.[1][2][3] The resolution is entitled “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument.”
Following UNEA-5.2, The mandate specifies that the INC must begin its work by the end of 2022 with the goal of "completing a draft global legally binding agreement by the end of 2024."[4]
Work towards the treaty began with the meeting of an Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) in Dakar, Senegal from May 30 through June 1, 2022.[5] During that meeting, Member States established a timeline for subsequent meetings through the end of 2024, rules of procedure, and the initial scope of work for the first meeting of the INC.[6]
The first meeting of the negotiating committee (INC-1) took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay from November 28, 2022 through December 2, 2022. The agenda contained items including the formal adoption of the rules of procedure.[7] Over 2,300 delegates from 160 countries participated.[8]
The second meeting of the negotiating committee (INC-2) took place in Paris, France from May 29, 2023 through June 2, 2023.[9]
The third session (INC-3) took place from November 13-19, 2023 at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya[10][11]
The fourth session (INC-4) took place from April 23-29, 2024 in Ottawa, Canada. [12][13]
the Republic of Korea has offered to host INC-5. In 2025, the treaty is to be finalized at the conference of the plenipotentiaries, with Ecuador, Peru, Rwanda, and Senegal as potential hosts[14]
Members agreed that the treaty will be international in scope, legally binding, and should address the full life cycle of plastics, including its design, production, and disposal.[4] It has been argued that chemicals contained in plastics such as additives, processing aids, and nonintentionally added substances need to be addressed, too.[15][16]
In the lead-up to UNEA-5.2, the majority of UN Member States had expressed their support for advancing a global treaty.[17] Other groups making public declarations about the need for a treaty include the business sector,[18] civil society, Indigenous Peoples, workers, trade unions,[19] waste pickers[20] and scientists.[21]
