CIVICUS discusses ongoing negotiations for a global plastics treaty with Graham Forbes, Global Campaign Lead for the Plastic Free Future project at Greenpeace and head of the Greenpeace delegation to the treaty negotiations.
The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution ended on 2 December without agreement, as states remained divided over the inclusion of binding production reduction targets and mandates to phase out some chemicals. Oil-producing states such as Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia blocked progress, arguing that the problem isn’t plastic production but its disposal. Civil society groups criticised the influence of fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists who attended in record numbers, including as part of several national delegations. Despite the setbacks, 85 countries and the European Union pledged to push for ambitious, legally binding measures in future talks.