Highlights and images for 26 November 2024

Drilling down into the core of what the new treaty to end plastic pollution will cover and how it will operate took up the bulk of the day as delegates gathered for the second day of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.

Delegates engaged in candid discussions, sharing views on the INC Chair’s Non-Paper, while also referring to the compilation of draft text of the ILBI on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (UNEP/PP/INC.5/4). All four contact groups met at various points during the day, namely:

• Contact Group 1, co-chaired by Maria Angélica Ikeda (Brazil) and Axel Borchmann (Germany), mandated to address plastic products, chemicals of concern as used in plastic products, product design, and production/supply and related aspects, as well as exemptions, emissions and releases, and definitions from the Non-Paper;
• Contact Group 2, co-chaired by Oliver Boachie (Ghana) and Tuulia Toikka (Finland), mandated to consider plastic waste management, emissions and releases, existing plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, and just transition;
• Contact Group 3, co-chaired by Gwendalyn Kingtaro Sisior (Palau) and Katherine Lynch (Australia), mandated to discuss finance, including the establishment of a financial mechanism, capacity building, technical assistance and technology transfer, and international cooperation; and
• Contact Group 4, co-chaired by Han Min Young (Republic of Korea) and Linroy Christian (Antigua and Barbuda), mandated to consider objective, scope, preamble and principles, as well as implementation and compliance, national plans, reporting, monitoring of progress and effectiveness evaluation, information exchange, and awareness, education and research.

Intriguing questions were raised about the definition of “legacy” waste and that of “existing” waste in Contact Group 2. With a significant percentage of all plastic and plastic products only produced in the 21st century, how much legacy waste needs to be addressed over-and-above existing waste produced by individual countries? Delegations also debated whether addressing existing waste should be governed by global measures, which could also cover plastic pollution in areas beyond national jurisdiction, or only be addressed by national governments. The text related to just transition also produced divergent views, with debates over whether this article should be implemented at the global or national level.

Significantly, Contact Group 2 moved into full textual negotiations on the draft article on plastic waste management during the morning and afternoon sessions, although they made only halting progress. The concise text contained in the Non-Paper on this article expanded significantly, with delegates noting that it had become “unreadable.” The group was forced into a lengthy procedural debate about whether to continue discussions on parts of this article in an informal setting, whether to task the Contact Group Co-Chairs with revising the text, or whether to continue with line-by-line negotiations in the contact group. Eventually, the group agreed to entrust the Co-Chairs with revising the text.

In debating the objective of the future treaty, delegates in Contact Group 4 agreed that it should be focused, clear and concise. However, views diverged on what should be included, with some arguing that the objective should mention the full life cycle of plastics and biodiversity, among others, while others stated that these can be better addressed in other parts of the instrument. This group also opened textual negotiations on reporting and effectiveness evaluation and monitoring, debating the reporting requirements for developed and developing countries, as well as whether financial and technical support are conditions. Delegations also discussed a non-exhaustive list of information sources for the effectiveness evaluation and monitoring.

In the evening, Contact Group 1 opened their formal discussions with plastic product design, after holding informal consultations during the day. Meanwhile, Contact Group 3 began their work with the Co-Chairs identifying what the future treaty’s provisions on finance might encompass, including the potential establishment of a financial mechanism, before opening for substantive interventions to hash out textual proposals.