The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (FPF reported) took place from November 25 to December 1, 2024, in Busan, Republic of Korea. Thousands of meeting participants representing Member States, civil society, industry, academia, indigenous peoples, local governments, and many more from around the world convened to discuss global measures to address plastic pollution, building on the groundwork laid in previous negotiating sessions (FPF reported and here).
As part of the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastic Treaty, two staff scientists and three board members from the Food Packaging Forum were present at the meeting. They were on-site to help Member States understand and implement the latest scientific evidence, and they also spoke at various side events including one held by the Scientists’ Coalition. A total of 71 independent scientists representing the Coalition were on the ground to support delegates.
Ahead of the meeting, the INC Chair prepared a third revised non-paper to serve as the foundation for discussions. The negotiations were initially organized into four contact groups, each focusing on the specific components and themes across the non-paper’s texts. During the start of the meeting week, these contact groups met regularly to discuss often until late at night.
The High Ambition Coalition (HAC), a collective of countries advocating for a robust treaty, continued to seek the phase-out of harmful plastic products and chemicals of concern. “Plastics are not convenient. Plastics are poison,” said the lead negotiator from Panama who is part of the HAC during their press conference. He continued, “if we don’t get an ambitious treaty out of Busan, history will not forgive us. This is the time to step up or get out.” However, the HAC’s ambitions faced strong and persistent resistance from a small group of largely oil-producing nations, led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, resulting in limited progress on almost all key issues. A representative from Rwanda added during the HAC press conference: “It is disappointing to see that a small number of members remain unsupportive of the measures necessary to drive real change. As co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition, Rwanda is clear. We are not here to settle for a treaty that lacks the ambition to make a tangible impact […] Rwanda cannot accept a toothless treaty.”
As the meeting week progressed and the contact groups remained unable to make progress, the Chair changed the plan and moved to closed-door meetings where observers not part of official Member State delegations could not attend. He also released an updated non-paper reflecting the evolving discussions. Despite extensive deliberations, the delegates could not reach a consensus on the text of a final treaty. Central issues remained unresolved such as whether measures should be mandatory or voluntary and whether they would be implemented globally or nationally. Chemicals of concern were also proposed by some member states to be removed entirely from the discussions. These debates (largely stalled by pushback from the small group of oil-producing countries) underscored fundamental differences regarding the scope and enforceability of the treaty.
Given the lack of progress, the Chair announced plans for an additional negotiation session, INC-5.2, to be held sometime in 2025. This extension of the negotiation process aims to provide more time to bridge gaps and finalize the treaty text. A date and location for the next meeting have not yet been decided or announced.
A summary of the INC-5 meeting with daily updates and photos has been published by the Earth Negotiations Bulletin. The Scientists’ Coalition has also issued a press release on the outcome of the meeting and an op-ed in Environmental Health News provides a perspective on the outcome. Much more reporting and views on the process are available from various news outlets and observer organizations.
Reference
Earth Negotiations Bulletin (December 1, 2024) “Summary report, 25 November – 1 December 2024.”
Read more
Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty (December 2, 2024) “Press release on the outcome of INC-5.”
Pete Myers (December 6, 2024) “Op-ed: The plastic treaty had to fail, so it can succeed.” Environmental Health News
