Highlights and images for 29 November 2024

Closed-door meetings were the order of the day as 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 reconvened on Friday.

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

During the morning, in a states-only consultation with the INC Chair, three issues were on the table:

• products and chemicals of concern as used in plastic products (draft article 3);
• supply (draft article 6); and
• finance, including the establishment of a financial mechanism (draft article 11).

Going into INC-5, the Non-Paper circulated by INC Chair Luis Vayas did not suggest language for these articles. The Non-Paper did provide guidance on what may be required under each, and the discussions on these issues earlier in the week had proved very difficult. Views on draft article 3 ranged from excluding the issue from the ILBI altogether to proposals for lists of the worst offending products and chemicals in plastic products. On draft article 6, views ranged from, again, excluding mention of this element altogether to setting a global target to reduce the production of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels and promote circular economy, taking measures across the full lifecycle of plastics. 

On draft article 11, views shared included the need for a dedicated, standalone financial mechanism primarily funded by developed countries which would facilitate developing countries to implement the future treaty. They also included a financial mechanism, funded by all parties and from additional sources, including industry. Delegates had agreed to focus on text merging two proposals, but had made limited progress in their discussions.

Outside of the closed-door meetings, civil society members made their disappointment heard, lamenting that there had been no meaningful negotiations in the five days of INC-5 and no clear document being considered by the delegates. Some states, however, left the morning’s consultations hopeful and determined, stressing that ambition remains high, and that pathways towards convergence among the many different proposals were beginning to show.

By late afternoon, ahead of an evening Heads of Delegation meeting, a Non-Paper containing draft text of the Chair of the INC was circulated, with updated draft treaty language on the basis of the week’s deliberations, including on articles for which no draft text had been presented at the start of the week.

The new Non-Paper offers a more streamlined structure, particularly in the preamble and the objective. It presents options for definitions, principles, scope, definitions, and health. It also includes revised:

• draft Article 3, titled Plastic Products [and Chemicals of Concern as Used in Plastic Products];
• draft Article 6, titled [Supply][Sustainable Production]; and
• draft Article 11, entitled Financial [Resources and] Mechanism.

The text contains several brackets that need to be resolved for a new agreement to be adopted. Delegates will reconvene for the penultimate day of INC-5 on Saturday.