BUSAN, Republic of Korea, November 29, 2024 — A broad coalition of observer organizations held a press conference outside of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to advance a plastics treaty. The organizations demanded that negotiators come together to show courage and not compromise in the final days of the negotiations.
The organizations delivered the following statement:
There are only 36 hours left of scheduled negotiations to secure a global treaty that can end plastic pollution. But right now, we see the usual low-ambition countries derailing the negotiations while the countries who have pledged ambition, such as members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) and who sit comfortably in the majority, are sleepwalking into a treaty that will not be worth the paper it will be written on. Negotiators are sticking with business as usual at such a crucial stage, abandoning their commitments, ignoring their principles, neglecting the science and economics in front of them, and failing those most impacted. All in the pursuit of consensus and finalizing any kind of treaty by the end of this week, regardless of how catastrophically futile it will be in addressing the worsening plastic crisis.
Contrary to their excuses, ambitious countries have the power and the pathways to forge a treaty to end the global plastic crisis. What we are severely lacking right now, however, is the determination of our leaders to do what is right and to fight for the treaty they promised the world two years ago.
A weak treaty based on voluntary measures will break under the weight of the plastic crisis and will lock us into an endless cycle of unnecessary harm. The clear demand from impacted communities and the overwhelming majority of citizens, scientists, and businesses for binding global rules across the entire lifecycle is irrefutable. The vast majority of governments know what now needs to be done. They know what measures we need and they know how they can be implemented. Negotiators have several procedural options available, including voting or making a treaty among the willing. In these final throes of negotiations, we need governments to show courage. They must not compromise under pressure exerted by a small group of low-ambition states and hinge the life of our planet on unachievable consensus. We demand a strong treaty that protects our health and the health of future generations.
Supporting organizations include:
5 Gyres Institute
Aamjiwnaang First Nation
ACT Promoção da Saúde
AEEFG
Alaska Community Action on ToxicsA
Aliansi Zero Waste Indonesia (AZWI)
Almang Market
Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment
Arnika
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact
Asociación Colnodo
Asociación Ecológica Santo Tomás, A.C.
Association APEDDUB
Australian Marine Conservation Society
AVAAZ
Azul
BAN Toxics
Basel Action Network
Beyond Plastics
BIOS ARGENTINA
Break Free From Plastic (BFFP)
Breathe Free Detroit
BYO – US Reduces
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
CARPIN
Casa Cem Vias Verdes A.C.
Center for Coalfield Justice
PACAN
Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST)
Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center)
Centre for Environmental justice/ FoE Sri Lanka
Centre for Environment Justice and Development
Centre for Financial AccountabilityCHEM Trust
Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
Citizen consumer and civic Action Group
Climate Reality Project: Susquehanna Valley PA Chapter
Coare
Colectiva Malditos Plasticos Mexico
Community Action Against Plastic Waste (CAPws)
Community Legal Help and Public Interest Centre, Inc.
Consumers’ Association of Penang
Corporate Europe Observatory
Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH)
Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation
Društvo Ekologi brez meja
Ecojustice Canada
ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards
Ecosoum
ECOTON
EcoWaste Coalition of the Philippines
End Plastic Pollution Uganda
Environmental Defence Canada
Environmental Investigation Agency
Environmental Justice Communities Against Plastics (EJCAP)
Environmental NGO “Foundation to suppot civil initiatives”
Eureka Recycling
Exit Plastik Alliance
Facing Finance
Fair Resource Foundation
Fauna & Flora
Fenceline Watch
FreshWater Accountability Project
Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific
Friends of the Earth Cyprus
Friends of the Earth Malta
fundacion Aguaclara
Gallifrey Foundation
GLOBAL 2000 – Friends of the Earth Austria
Global change markers
Grambangla Unnayan Committee
Greenpeace
Greenpeace Türkiye
Hamraah Foundation
Health and Environment Justice Support (HEJSupport)
Healthy Babies Bright Futures
Human Environmental Association for Development-HEAD
Humusz Szövetség
Indigenous Environmental Network
Instituto Regional de Estudios en Sustancias Tóxicas
Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), Inc.
International Pollutants Elimination Network – IPEN
ISDE, International Society of Doctors for Environment EU
Journalists for Human Rights
Just Transition Alliance
Korea Federation for Environment Movements
La Fresque du Plastique
La Grande Puissance de Dieu
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Friends of the Earth Philippines
Mingas por el mar
Moms Clean Air Force
Mother Earth Foundation Philippines
Mother Earth Foundation
National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF)
Nexus3 Foundation
No Plastic In My Sea
Objectif Zéro Plastique
Observatoire du principe pollueur-payeur
Ocean Legacy Foundation
Orléans Zéro Plastique
OSHE Foundation
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Africa
Phoenix FTA Limited
Plastic Bank Foundation
Plastic Change
Plastic Cup Society
Plastic Free Foundation
Plastic Free Future
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Plastic Soup Foundation
RAPAL Uruguay
Recycle Ann Arbor
Red de Acción sobre Plaguicidas y Alternativas en México (RAPAM)
Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development (CGFED)
Retorna.org
Rezero
Rio Grande International Study Center
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth)
Save our Susquehanna
SEAS AT RISK
Society of Native Nations
Surfrider Canada
Surfrider Foundation Europe
Sustainable Environment Development Initiative
Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADeV Nigeria
The David Suzuki Foundation
The Descendants Project
The Scarab Trust
Toxisphera Environmental Health Association
Trash Hero World
Truth About Plastic
Valley Improvement Projects
VšĮ “Žiedinė ekonomika”
WALHI/Friends of the Earth Indonesia
Wen (Women’s Environmental Network)
Western media for environment and conservation-wemeco
Women Engage for a Common Future – WECF International
Women’s working group on ending plastic pollution
Wonjin Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health
WWF
Youth Love Egypt Foundation
Zelena akcija / FoE Croatia
ZERO
Zero Waste Association of South Africa
Zero Waste Durban
Zero Waste France
Zero Waste Ithaca
서울환경연합 (KFEM Seoul)
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Media Contacts
Cate Bonacini, Center for International Environmental Law, press@ciel.org, +1-202-742-5847 (desk), +1-510-520-9109 (WhatsApp)