Setting the Stage for INC-5.2

The 5th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) adjourned without a final text, and is set to resume in August 2025 (INC-5.2) with the hopes of landing a final deal.

The task at hand is significant. Governments have spent the last three years grappling to define the essential elements of a new legally binding instrument that has the capacity to tackle plastic pollution in all sectors, in all environments, including the human body. While an agreement was not reached, significant progress towards understanding the expectations of the ambitious countries was finally laid bare.

At INC-5.2, governments will look to finalise the text, including provisions on control measures and the financial aspects, and agree on the intersessional work required in advance of the first Conference of the Parties (COP) all while also ensuring that the structure of the treaty allows for strengthening over time. All of this and more takes place against the backdrop of a dynamic and ever-changing geopolitical context. But we have never been closer and the voices of those standing up for ambition have never been stronger.