Final round of UN plastics treaty talks begin in South Korea

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The fifth and final round of United Nations (UN)-led negotiations for a global plastics treaty to combat plastic pollution kicked off in Busan, South Korea, on Monday.

The fifth session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) runs through 1 December and is aimed at finalizing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution by the end of this year.

“Growth in plastic production is emitting more greenhouse gases, pushing us further into climate disaster,” Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said at the opening ceremony of the event.

“At the international level there have also been clear signals that a deal is essential – including the G20 declaration last week, which said that G20 leaders were “determined” to land this treaty by the end of the year,” she said.

The leaders of the G20 met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 18-19 November.

If an agreement is reached by the end of INC-5, the final draft of the treaty will be unveiled at the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries in June 2025.

Negotiations may be extended for two to six months if no deal is reached.

The UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2022 resolved to end plastic pollution by adopting resolution 5/14, which established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to work towards a treaty.

The INC has met four times since 2022, the latest being in Ottawa, Canada in April this year which ended with no clear path on capping plastic production.

“Over the last two years, four negotiation rounds have yielded a wealth of options for the treaty, from plastic product design to waste management,” Swiss international advocacy non-governmental organization World Economic Forum said in a note on 18 November.

“In Busan, negotiators face the challenge of refining these options into a coherent treaty that countries can ratify,” it said.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) – which holds producers accountable for their products’ lifecycle, especially after consumer use – has been a focal point in discussions on the international legally binding instrument, it added.

Thumbnail image: Protesters call on government to recognize importance of the Global Plastics Treaty, in Seoul, Korea – 11 September 2024 (By JEON HEON-KYUN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)