Six years ago, a legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution seemed impossible. But last month, the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) concluded with the historic passage of a mandate to do just that.
One hundred seventy-five countries adopted a resolution titled End Plastic Pollution: Towards a legally binding instrument. The resolution established a mandate that calls on countries to develop an instrument to address plastic’s full, toxic life cycle: from the extraction of fossil fuels to production to end of life. This landmark moment is the result of multiple movements and governments coming together from all around the world to recognize and address the urgency of the plastics crisis.
In the years leading up to UNEA 5.2, an international movement comprised of civil society organizations, workers, Indigenous Peoples groups, scientists, women, and community stakeholders advanced critical information and positions to change the direction of negotiations. CIEL was privileged to join representatives from many of these organizations in hybrid negotiations. Whether folks were calling in from home or on the ground in Nairobi, the coordinated, sustained advocacy was essential in securing a historic document. This work is evident in the mandate’s references to human health, the relevance of climate to the plastics crisis, and for the first time, acknowledgement of traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition of the essential role that waste pickers play in solutions to the plastics crisis.
This mandate will serve as meaningful scaffolding for a legally binding instrument on the full life cycle of plastics, paying special attention to the marine environment. With detailed, specific provisions throughout the mandate, all the ingredients are present to craft a treaty that is comprehensive in scope and that sufficiently addresses the plastic crisis.
Now, the work turns toward negotiating the treaty itself, and ensuring that the doors to public participation remain open and that human rights and social and environmental justice remain foundational to the treaty. Coming discussions will range from how to define “plastic pollution” to the design of “national action plans” that will develop country-specific approaches to addressing the crisis and the setting up of financial mechanisms to support the new treaty implementation. The ninety hours of hard-fought negotiations during UNEA 5.2 reveal that the road ahead will not be simple or easy.
The two-year timeline for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) will begin in June 2022. At the end of May 2022, an Open-Ended Working Group will convene in Dakar, Senegal, to discuss the timetable, hold four multistakeholder dialogues, and organize the work that lies ahead. Five INC sessions will carry out the work of crafting the specifics of the treaty. Negotiations are set to culminate in a meeting of plenipotentiaries in early 2025.
CIEL and partners will be present throughout this process, working together to prevent parties or industry from watering down robust protections for key elements. In the months ahead, there is still much to be done to ensure that the treaty delivers on its promises for health, climate, biodiversity, and human rights.
Published May 2, 2022.