On November 19, 2023, the third round of negotiations by the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) concluded. Diplomats from countries across the globe convened to negotiate alongside observers including scientists, industry representatives, activists, youth organizations, and others in Nairobi, Kenya. On the ground throughout the entire week were 37 members of the Scientist’s Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, a diverse group of leading experts on plastic pollution research including two team members from the Food Packaging Forum.
As an outcome of the meeting, the INC secretariat has been tasked with revising the Zero Draft by the end of the year based on the input received by Committee members during the meeting. The document outlines all of the options proposed for addressing plastic pollution across the entire life span of plastics. The negotiations will reconvene at the Committee’s fourth meeting on April 21 – 30, 2024, in Ottawa, Canada. Despite a clear interest by many members in establishing intersessional work to prepare key documents, there was no consensus on a mandate for such work before the next round of negotiations in April. This lack of progress raised concerns from many about the Committee’s ability to realistically achieve an effective global plastics treaty by the planned end of the process next year.
During the INC-3 meeting, three contact groups focused on discussing different aspects of the Zero Draft, with final updates from Group 1 and Group 2 indicating disagreement and a wide range of proposed approaches to address the complexity involved. Group 3 was unable to finish its discussions and provide an updated version of the draft text. Contact Group 1 focused on the technical and regulatory elements within the Zero Draft, Group 2 on financial, implementation, and compliance aspects, and Group 3 on institutional arrangements and general and final provisions not covered during the INC-2 meeting. There is an updated version of the Zero Draft already available that contains the revisions from Groups 1 and 2, and the final revised Zero Draft that contains input from Group 3 is expected to be over 100 pages long once published at the end of this year. This is a significant increase in the length of the draft (compared to the start of the INC-3 meeting), and it will serve as the basis for the continued negotiations in Ottawa next April.
The absence of consensus on intersessional work at the end of the week led to dissatisfaction by many, with the United States proposing to reopen discussions at the last minute to try and find a way forward. However, this was opposed by Russia and Saudi Arabia, and the meeting was then called to an end. Civil society observer organizations expressed disappointment and emphasized the need for high-ambition countries to prevent such obstacles, and they criticized Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Russia for negotiating in bad faith.
Members of the Scientists’ Coalition were very busy throughout the week, answering delegates’ scientific questions, participating in various meetings and side events, and giving insightful talks and presentations to explain the latest relevant independent science to help inform the discussions. Each morning, the group’s scientists set up an informal ‘Ask a Scientist’ pop-up, giving Committee members the chance to easily engage with scientific experts.
Coalition member Jane Muncke from the Food Packaging Forum spoke during an official side event panel focused on plastic pollution, toxicity, chemicals, and potential risks to human health. The panel was moderated by the World Health Organization and the Government of Uruguay.
In the last plenary session of the meeting, delegates elected Ecuador’s Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso as INC chair for the remainder of the process. Looking ahead, concerns about still unresolved procedural issues related to consensus and decision-making potentially threaten to obstruct future negotiations. There is also a call to ensure that independent scientific knowledge is implemented in the treaty, emphasizing the use of a precautionary approach and transparent implementation with mandatory global reduction targets. The establishment of a clear platform for independent science to inform the treaty is still missing, and the new INC chair has been urged by scientists at INC-3 to clearly address this as the negotiations move forward.
References
UNEP (November 19, 2023) “Third session of negotiations on an international plastics treaty advance in Nairobi.”
Earth Negotiations Bulletin (November 23, 2023) “Summary of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution: 11-19 November 2023.”
Read More
Tosca Ballerini (November 22, 2023). “Global plastics treaty, third round of negotiations closes without agreement.” Renewable Matter
Nicola Jones (November 20, 2023). “Progress on plastic pollution treaty too slow, scientists say.” Nature
Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty (November 13 to November 19, 2023) “INC-3 Daily Updates on LinkedIn.”
