Highlights and images for 6 August 2025

Which comes first: form or function? This was the question that seemed to follow delegates around on the second day of the final round of negotiations toward an agreement to end plastic pollution. Having grappled with the objective, scope, and definitions on the previous day without much resolution, delegates attending the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, resumed consideration of the contents of the future treaty. 

Delegates met all day in four contact groups and informal sessions to hold candid discussions on various parts of the text, with a view to sending any text where convergence had been reached to the plenary, which would subsequently send it to the Open-ended Legal Drafting Group.

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

As expected, one of the main contentions is whether to include an article specifying controls of certain plastic products, including those manufactured only for a single use, and those containing hazardous chemicals. This issue spurred a fractious debate in one contact group in the morning. With little progress made on the proposed provision on sustainable production on Tuesday, a group of 78 countries saw the global phase-out of certain plastic products as crucial, highlighting it as the very heart of the treaty. Yet others were firmly against global measures, calling for voluntary national measures or no provision on the matter at all. Following a discussion on the way forward, the group went into informals to try to make progress. 

In the contact group considering waste management, different views arose on whether to refer to the waste hierarchy, human health, or the guidelines developed under the Basel Convention on the environmentally sound management of plastic waste. Delegates also discussed a list of potential measures to be taken by parties on waste management, the transboundary movement of plastic waste, and extended producer responsibility.  

Finance is the glue that holds it all together, and its importance was highlighted as delegates resumed their discussions on different proposals on how to ensure adequate financing to implement the future treaty. Key questions in this group include: what is the role for the Global Environment Facility? What are the modalities for establishing a dedicated fund? How do we mobilize private sector resources? Is there a need for a review of the financial mechanism? Other issues discussed related to the alignment of financial flows for developed and developing countries, and whether or not to impose primary plastic polymer fees. 

Delegates also considered some issues related to institutional arrangements, including the functions of the future secretariat. They debated whether these functions should be performed by the UN Environment Programme or by another entity, and also provided input on the functions themselves. They also opened discussions on articles related to dispute settlement, right to vote, and amendment of the convention. 

Over the course of the day, informal discussions were also held on whether to include an article setting out the principles and approaches that will govern the new treaty, and what principles and approaches to include, and on releases and leakages.  

On Thursday, delegates will reconvene in contact groups and informals to make progress on other elements in the text.