Global Plastics Treaty is taking a next step in its development

CCB • November 13, 2023

13 November 2023, Nairobi (Kenya) - Coalition Clean Baltic along with many other global and national environmental NGOs is joining UN governments for a third session of the Plastics Treaty Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3), which is taking place this week in UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.


During INC-3 participants will be mainly working with the zero draft of the Plastics Treaty, which was released by UNEP and the INC Chair in September 2023.  The released document includes many placeholders and different language options, which are a good basis for further discussions. The most promising areas presented in the draft include options for progressive reduction of plastic production, elimination of polymers and chemicals of concern, elimination of problematic short-lived and avoidable plastics, the recognition of the need for transparency, just transition, and the setting up of systems and targets for reduction and reuse, among others. Potentially problematic and ambiguous provisions include text on recycled plastic content, Extended Producer Responsibility, and waste management. Without ambitious standards, these areas could misplace the emphasis on recycling and waste management measures, undermining the treaty's effectiveness.


CCB believes that plastic pollution is currently a growing international crisis with a devastating impact on the environment, including on the marine resources, human health, human rights, environmental justice, the rights of indigenous people, biodiversity, and climate. As numerous studies have demonstrated, plastic has been found everywhere, not only in ecosystems and the atmosphere but also in the food we eat, the water we drink, and even inside our bodies”, comments Eugeniy Lobanov, CCB Hazardous Substances and Marine Litter Working Area Leader, and participant of INC 3 in Nairobi. He continues: “The future Global Plastics Treaty shall be effective in reversing the tide of plastic pollution, mechanisms and solutions to address it need to exist within climate and planetary boundaries. Among other things the new Treaty should be centered on avoiding future plastic pollution throughout the life cycle by phasing down production and consumption of plastics, and prohibition of toxic chemicals in plastics.



CCB would also like to highlight that the evidence of toxic threats from chemicals in plastics has been accumulating, with recent evidence showing the complexity of the toxic plastic problem. Data published in the beginning of November 2023 reveal that hundreds of chemicals, including numerous highly toxic pesticides, were found in recycled plastic material (pellets) collected from thirteen countries across Africa, South America, Asia and Europe. In correspondence also published in November 2023 in the prestigious journal Science, researchers from IPEN, the University of Gothenburg, Aarhus University, and the University of Exeter noted that “Hazardous chemicals present risks to recycling workers and consumers, as well as to the wider society and environment… Before recycling can contribute to tackling the plastics pollution crisis, the plastics industry must limit hazardous chemicals.” A webinar previewing a forthcoming study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology noted that there are more than 16,000 chemicals used in plastics with 25% classified as hazardous and noted that “no plastic chemical [can be] classified as safe.”

 

Plastic recycling has been touted as a solution to the plastics pollution crisis, but toxic chemicals in plastics complicate their reuse and disposal and hinder plastic recycling,” said Dr. Bethanie Carney Almroth, of the University of Gothenburg in Göteborg, Sweden and a co-author of a recent study showing that plastic and chemical pollution has exceeded the Earth’s “planetary boundaries.” Dr. Almroth continued, “Numerous studies show that hazardous chemicals can accumulate even in relatively close-loop plastic recycling systems. We need to rapidly phase-out plastic chemicals that can cause harm to human health and the environment.”


***
Article written by Eugeniy Lobanov, CCB Hazardous Substances Working Area Leader

 

Resources:

UNEP online resource page for INC-3

IISD Daily coverage of INC-3

IPEN resource page for INC-3

BFFP resource page

 

 

Background information:

Plastic pollution is a growing crisis for the environment, human health, human rights, biodiversity, and the climate — actions to address it are needed now at the global level. 


In March 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) adopted resolution 5/14 titled “End Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument” that began the process to negotiate a new global plastics treaty by the end of 2024. Following UNEA-5.2, an ad hoc open-ended working group (OEWG) met in Dakar, Senegal, to prepare for negotiations. That meeting recommended five Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meetings over the following two years. The first Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting—INC-1—took place 28 November – 2 December, 2022, in Punta del Este, Uruguay. Significant intersessional work has been happening since. 


UNEA Resolution 5/14 was a landmark moment in global policy making. Global treaties are the world’s best hope at regulating transnational environmental problems, as we saw in the successful regulation of ozone depleting substances by the Montreal Protocol. Negotiations between UN governments will now focus on interpreting that mandate and developing the treaty. Significant questions about the treaty’s objective, scope, function and form remain.


At the INC-1, civil society groups joined forces to demand a strong and effective treaty, one which fully meets the challenges of the plastics crisis. INC-1 ended with a mix of highs and lows as civil society and rights-holders called for a full life cycle approach, addressing the extraction of feedstocks and production to transport, use, disposal, and remediation.


The INC-2 took place at the UNESCO Headquarters, in Paris, France from 29 May to 2 June, 2023. INC-2 considered multiple elements that could be included in the future treaty. Delegates also elected remaining members of the INC bureau and agreed on the provisional application of the draft rules of procedure. In the end, delegates agreed to mandate the Secretariat to prepare a Committee-driven zero draft, to reflect differing views on elements related to the plastic lifecycle, such as identifying options on definitions and criteria along the plastic supply chain, including on problematic and avoidable plastic polymers and products, design for circularity, substitutes and alternatives, releases and emissions, and addressing means of implementation.


The INC-3 is scheduled to take place from 13 to 19 November 2023 at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The session will be preceded by regional consultations on 12 November 2023. Also, as decided by the Committee at its second session, a preparatory one-day meeting will take place on 11 November 2023 at the same venue. 


By CCB December 5, 2025
In Belém, in the heart of the Amazon, the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference COP30 immediately set the bar high. In his opening speech, Brazilian President Lula da Silva stressed that climate change is no longer a "threat to the future", but a tragedy that the world is already experiencing here and now, and called on countries to accelerate actions rather than limit themselves to promises. However, as is often the case in COP meetings, the political reality turned out to be more complicated than ambitions. Negotiations were difficult: the countries could not agree on a clear and binding plan to phase out fossil fuels. It is important to note that the Global Action Plan has provided a platform for discussing the development of a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change. At the same time, COP30 has brought tangible progress in other areas: the countries agreed to triple the amount of adaptation funding for developing countries by 2035, strengthened the forest and ocean agenda, and expanded the range of practical initiatives under the Action Agenda . COP30 consolidated the trend: from "water at the center of the climate crisis" to a holistic ocean agenda closely related to energy, food, biodiversity and sustainable coastal development. From the COP29 Water Declaration to the COP30 Enhanced Ocean Water Program At COP29 in Baku, the Declaration on Water for Climate Action was adopted , with the aim to applying comprehensive approaches to combating the causes and consequences of climate change for water basins, emphasizing also the need to integrate water-related mitigation and adaptation measures into national climate policies, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). COP30 did not reverse this logic, but expanded it towards the ocean and coasts. Both processes "aquatic" and "oceanic" are moving in the same direction: integration of water, coasts and ocean into the climate plans of countries; development of nature-based solutions; strengthening transboundary management of water and marine systems; recognizing adaptation as an equal part of climate policy, rather than an "adjunct" to emissions reduction. Task Force on Oceans and the Blue NDC Challenge The international Task Force on Oceans , led by Brazil and France, was officially presented at the high-level ministerial meeting "From Ambition to Implementation: Delivering on Ocean Commitments" on 18 November, integrating oceans into a global mechanism to accelerate the incorporation of marine solutions into national climate plans. The Blue Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Challenge encourages countries to set ocean protection targets when updating their NDCs. The goal is to transition the Blue NDC Challenge into an Implementation Task Force. Members of the Blue NDC Challenge, currently 17 countries, can adopt a broad set of actions aimed at the protection and sustainable use of the oceans.These measures include the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems, supported by tools such as marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management, and climate-aligned marine protected areas. Countries are also encouraged to support sustainable and climate-resilient fishing and aquaculture, ensuring ocean health and long-term food security. B razil has set a clear example: its updated NDC includes a separate chapter on the ocean and coastal zones. For the first time, the national climate plan (Plano Clima) until 2035 includes a thematic adaptation plan for these areas. Priorities include the completion of national Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) by 2030 and major programs for the conservation and restoration of mangroves and coral reefs (ProManguezal, ProCoral).
By CCB November 24, 2025
Leading scientists, consumer advocates and policymakers gathered on November, 18th in Brussels for the conference "From Evidence to Policy: Toward a Tox free Living Environment" . They warned that exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in homes and consumer products represents a silent but severe public health and economic crisis. New findings presented to over 65 participants by the EU Baltic Sea Interreg project NonHazCity3 , LIFE ChemBee and the ToxFree LIFE for All projects as well as revealed widespread contamination of European households by complex chemical mixtures of hormone system disrupting substances (so called endocrine disrupters – EDCs) that contribute to chronic disease and impose enormous health costs. According to the key note speaker Dr. Aleksandra Rutkowska, the home environment is a significant source of exposure to EDCs through indoor air, dust and daily contact with common products. Current research links such exposure to a shocking amount of lifestyle diseases including 22 cancer outcomes, 18 metabolic disorder outcomes and 17 cardiovascular disease outcomes. Scientists also stressed that the crisis spans generations. EDCs trigger epigenetic changes that not only affect today’s population but also future children and even grandchildren. Other effects include reproduction disorders. Over the last decade, 150 million babies were born preterm, and evidence shows that reducing the use of plastics by half could cut the risk of preterm birth by half as well.