The Global Plastics Treaty negotiations have reached a decisive political moment. The election of Chile’s Julio Cordano as Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) and the launch of a series of informal dialogues in Kyoto signal a renewed effort to rebuild trust and stalled momentum after failing to conclude negotiations in Geneva in August 2025.
At the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in 2022, the world celebrated as resolution 5/14 was adopted, convening an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. Since that high point, however, the process has steadily derailed. As we reflect on where we are and how to get where we need to be, in this briefing EIA experts outline the essential conditions for a successful resolution of the negotiations and recommendations for urgent course correction.
A distinct and harmful source of plastic pollution requiring dedicated language in the ILBI. The Global Plastics Treaty must include legally binding obligations on each Party to prevent, mitigate and remediate the impacts and occurrence of plastic abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing and aquaculture gear (ALDFG) across its full lifecycle.
In this briefing, we outline our final thoughts on the INC process, focusing on the strategic, political and technical considerations for landing an effective deal in Geneva.
This briefing looks at how other MEAs have built in flexibility mechanisms, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment.
This briefing note outlines the views of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) on key agenda items related to plastic waste at the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-17) to the Basel Convention.