At the conclusion of the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, WWF issued the following statement from Erin Simon, vice president and head of plastic waste and business:
"The pressure was on at INC-4 for countries to make up for lost time. With the world watching, negotiators made incremental progress by including some of the key ingredients needed for a successful treaty.
"With so much at risk, this problem will require global alignment on ways to reduce our use of plastic and stop it from leaking into nature. More work must be done between now and the final round of negotiations if we’re going to deliver an effective and legally-binding treaty that people and the planet deserve.”
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Read the full release below:
Progress made at INC-4 but more work needed to keep pace with urgency of plastic pollution crisis
- With over 15 million tonnes of plastics leaking into the ocean just since the start of the negotiations, WWF warns that progress on the treaty still lags behind the scale and urgency needed to end plastic pollution.
- To match the scale of this crisis, countries must deliver a strong global treaty if we are to end plastic pollution, but the latest talks still yielded no clarity on the treaty’s biggest fault line - whether the treaty will have common global rules or voluntary ones based on national plans.
- WWF welcomes countries’ decision to conduct formal intersessional work between INC-4 and INC-5 but is concerned by the limitation put on observer participation.
OTTAWA, Canada (April 30, 2024) - The latest talks on the global treaty to end plastic pollution yielded some success in terms of countries proposing and progressing on certain key measures to address the crisis but countries left undecided the treaty’s biggest fault line - whether the treaty will have the needed common global rules or enforce status quo through voluntary ones based on national plans.
The meeting saw further development of rules to prohibit problematic and avoidable plastic products, but left open whether the treaty will include measures to reduce production and consumption of plastics.
Negotiations moved at too slow a pace for important decisions to be progressed at a speed that can match the magnitude of the plastic pollution that currently engulfs our planet - over 15 million tonnes of plastic have leaked into the ocean just since the start of the negotiations.
"The pressure was on at INC-4 for countries to make up for lost time. With the world watching, negotiators made incremental progress by including some of the key ingredients needed for a successful treaty,” said Erin Simon, Vice President and Head of Plastic Waste and Business at WWF-US.
Countries did agree to conduct formal intersessional work in the lead up to INC-5, and this will be pivotal in pushing through lists on harmful and avoidable plastic products and chemicals, product design for reuse and recyclability as well as in analyzing the financial package needed for implementing the treaty.
“Countries have made important progress in Canada with constructive discussions on what the treaty will actually do, but the big decisions still remain: will we get the strong treaty with common global rules that most of the world is calling for, or will we end up with a voluntary watered-down agreement led by least common denominator values?" said Eirik Lindebjerg, Global Plastics Policy Lead, WWF International.
With significant work still needed before negotiators head back into the final meeting - to be held in Busan, Republic of Korea this November - WWF calls on all governments to explore every effort to advance progress between sessions. Formal intersessional work, country-led technical meetings, ministerial conferences and informal consultations will all be necessary to ensure negotiators come to the final meeting in Busan prepared to negotiate and finalize the treaty.
The decision to conduct formal intersessional work was an outcome that many reached for at INC-3 but were ultimately denied. While this decision will offer countries the time and opportunity to make progress on several important measures being considered in the treaty, such as elimination of problematic and avoidable plastic products and chemicals, the mandate does not include critical measures related to sustainable production and consumption such as the reduction of production of primary plastic polymers. Informal work should be convened on this topic in order to complement the work of INC.
"With so much at risk, this problem will require global alignment on ways to reduce our use of plastic and stop it from leaking into nature. More work must be done between now and the final round of negotiations if we’re going to deliver an effective and legally-binding treaty that people and the planet deserve,” added Simon.
While major disagreements on the strength of measures remain, increased alignment was seen throughout the negotiations in key areas, including binding global bans and phase outs of high-risk products and chemicals, development of mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, common product design requirements and a financial package to ensure implementation. The mission is now to translate this majority alignment into clear texts that provide for how the treaty can be implemented.
Negotiators need to recognize that plastic pollution is an accelerating global crisis that cannot be solved with fragmented national approaches. Governments must now employ all possible means to step up progress between the meetings on measures that will have the biggest impact on addressing plastic pollution across plastic’s full lifecycle," added Lindebjerg.
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