The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was created following a request by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) to the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In 2022, UNEA adopted the resolution “Plastic pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument”, which called for the establishment of the INC. The committee was tasked to start its work in the second half of 2022 and to complete negotiations by the end of 2024. Since mid-2022, governments have convened multiple rounds of UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) negotiations to convert broad commitments, such as reducing plastic leaks and expanding recycling, into firm treaty provisions on funding, progress tracking, and frontline community support. As a result, negotiators must now reconvene for an additional (as of now unscheduled) session to finalize the plastics treaty. A planned agreement in Busan, South Korea. earlier this year faltered, and hopes of wrapping up in Geneva this August were dashed when delegates couldn’t reach a consensus.
Recap on Outcomes
Heading into INC 5.2, we had hoped negotiators would lock in the treaty’s core building blocks, including agreeing on clear production‐reduction targets, binding Extended Producer Responsibility requirements, a robust financing mechanism, precise definitions of “plastic pollution,” and explicit health safeguards. We had hoped that only final drafting would remain. Disappointingly, by the closing of the session in Geneva, many of these critical issues were still deadlocked: debates over plastics production caps stalled, health impacts went unaddressed, and no consensus emerged on funding or accountability measures, leaving the path to an ambitious, enforceable treaty frustratingly unclear.
Why did we go?
At first glance, loss & damage and the plastics crisis may seem like separate problems, but they’re deeply intertwined. In fact, they represent two-thirds of the triple planetary crisis. Both loss & damage and plastics pollution stem from our reliance on fossil fuels, and undermine critical carbon-storing ecosystems, such as mangroves and coral reefs, thereby weakening natural defenses against extreme weather. Coastal and island communities already grappling with sea-level rise and storms now face waterways choked with waste, compounding health and livelihood risks and hindering disaster recovery. At the same time, both issues expose the same multilateral governance failures: insufficient funding, weak accountability, and a lack of binding rules. These parallel gaps underscore the need for dedicated finance mechanisms and unified policies that safeguard ecosystems, bolster resilience, and support the world’s most vulnerable.
Personal Reflection on INC 5.2
Over a lengthy 10-day process, we witnessed incredible efforts by high-ambition delegations, Indigenous groups, civil society representatives, frontline communities, youth, and children pushing for an ambitious Treaty – a Treaty that prioritises health, upstream production measures, and inclusivity in decision-making. Countless people worked together towards a better, cleaner world. Interventions bore witness to the scars of plastic pollution carved into bodies, lands, oceans, and the lives of future generations, while providing pathways to end the crisis. We have all the potential and text available for a fantastic, era-defining Treaty. But the negotiations were also very ugly. The session had been mined with over 230 plastics industry-affiliated lobbyists. Petty politics and machinations actively sought to undermine collective trust in the process. Calculated obstructionism by certain well-oiled interests thwarted substantive progress, weakening language and delaying discussions til late in the night. Frustration, disbelief, and fatigue sometimes blended into an exchange of ugly words. It became clear that ambition was not a unifying priority. In the face of this setback, we have no choice but to endure, to persist, to demand more and better from those whose decisions will affect present and future generations. An ambitious Treaty is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
This blog was wrtitten by Nicolas Gaulin, A Global coordinator at the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition.