Our ambition for the treaty ahead of INC-5

All governments agree that the plastic pollution challenge is a matter of urgency. We strongly encourage UN Member States to work towards concrete outcomes at INC-5 in Busan, Republic of Korea, in November 2024.

With limited time left for negotiations, reaching an agreement on everything at INC-5 may be challenging. Given this, we have developed a Roadmap towards an effective Global Plastics Treaty that is fit for purpose. Our ‘Treaty On A Page’ proposal highlights critical elements of our Vision Statement on which we ask governments to align on as an ambitious starting point to address plastic pollution. We would like to see these combined with a process for further strengthening the initial treaty through future decisions at Conference of the Parties.

This requires retaining a full lifecycle approach in the Global Plastics Treaty covering all relevant aspects of the UNEA resolution 5/14, without the need to decide on all details in Busan. At INC-5 we need a strong political commitment to put the right structures in place that allow us to develop further work on the immediate priorities, as well as to continuously improve targets and measures to be implemented under the treaty over time.

At INC-5 we need an initial agreement that the Global Plastics Treaty includes - as a minimum - the following critical elements:

Strong provisions to restrict or phase out problematic & avoidable plastic products as well as chemicals of concern, and to improve product design, defined through a global approach, and informed by clear criteria and possibly initial lists.
An obligation to introduce or advance targets and systems for collection, reuse and recycling at the national level, based on common definitions and key principles for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, Deposit Return Systems (DRS) and other policy instruments.
A comprehensive package to support the implementation of the treaty, including through aligning financial flows with the objectives of the treaty and mobilising public and private support to ensure a just transition towards a circular economy that is fair and inclusive to everyone concerned – workers, enterprises & communities, in particular by creating decent work opportunities in the plastics value chain, including for waste pickers.
A mandate to develop sector-specific programmes of work to inform future decisions at the Conference of the Parties (COP) on additional control measures needed and further guidance on their implementation targeting plastic applications where there is sufficient alignment, such as packaging and fishing gear to start with.
A sound mechanism for reporting, monitoring of progress and evaluating the treaty’s effectiveness on a regular basis, with the possibility for the governing body of the treaty to further strengthen policy measures over time.

We know that a voluntary, fragmented and non-specific set of policy measures determined differently in each country will add significant barriers and costs to implement the necessary changes at scale. Businesses want a legally binding treaty that tackles the entire lifecycle of plastic products, underpinned by harmonised regulation.

All governments agree that the plastic pollution challenge is a matter of urgency. We strongly encourage UN Member States to work towards concrete outcomes at INC-5 in Busan, Republic of Korea, in November 2024.

With limited time left for negotiations, reaching an agreement on everything at INC-5 may be challenging. Given this, we have developed a Roadmap towards an effective Global Plastics Treaty that is fit for purpose. Our ‘Treaty On A Page’ proposal highlights critical elements of our Vision Statement on which we ask governments to align on as an ambitious starting point to address plastic pollution. We would like to see these combined with a process for further strengthening the initial treaty through future decisions at Conference of the Parties.

This requires retaining a full lifecycle approach in the Global Plastics Treaty covering all relevant aspects of the UNEA resolution 5/14, without the need to decide on all details in Busan. At INC-5 we need a strong political commitment to put the right structures in place that allow us to develop further work on the immediate priorities, as well as to continuously improve targets and measures to be implemented under the treaty over time.

At INC-5 we need an initial agreement that the Global Plastics Treaty includes - as a minimum - the following critical elements:

Strong provisions to restrict or phase out problematic & avoidable plastic products as well as chemicals of concern, and to improve product design, defined through a global approach, and informed by clear criteria and possibly initial lists.
An obligation to introduce or advance targets and systems for collection, reuse and recycling at the national level, based on common definitions and key principles for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, Deposit Return Systems (DRS) and other policy instruments.
A comprehensive package to support the implementation of the treaty, including through aligning financial flows with the objectives of the treaty and mobilising public and private support to ensure a just transition towards a circular economy that is fair and inclusive to everyone concerned – workers, enterprises & communities, in particular by creating decent work opportunities in the plastics value chain, including for waste pickers.
A mandate to develop sector-specific programmes of work to inform future decisions at the Conference of the Parties (COP) on additional control measures needed and further guidance on their implementation targeting plastic applications where there is sufficient alignment, such as packaging and fishing gear to start with.
A sound mechanism for reporting, monitoring of progress and evaluating the treaty’s effectiveness on a regular basis, with the possibility for the governing body of the treaty to further strengthen policy measures over time.

We know that a voluntary, fragmented and non-specific set of policy measures determined differently in each country will add significant barriers and costs to implement the necessary changes at scale. Businesses want a legally binding treaty that tackles the entire lifecycle of plastic products, underpinned by harmonised regulation.

Download our INC-5 key messages

Download our Treaty On A Page