This week the second of five rounds of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty have been taking place in Paris, known as the INC-2 negotiations. The treaty aims to address the issue of global plastic pollution across the plastic life cycle and value chain, limiting new plastic production and reducing plastic waste. A comprehensive global plastics treaty is a potentially significant step toward combatting nurdle pollution worldwide.
What happened at first round of negotiations
Following the first round of negotiations in November 2022, governments and stakeholders were asked to submit their opinions on what should be included in the global plastics treaty. These submissions were compiled into an options paper, containing elements which could be included in the global plastics treaty following further rounds of negotiations. You can read all government submissions hereand the subsequent option paper being negotiated in Paris this week here.
What is happening in Paris?
These proposed options are currently being discussed between delegates at the second round of negotiations in Paris. These negotiations are important as they will help shape which options are included in subsequent rounds of treaty negotiations, the financial framework of the treaty, which sources of plastic will be addressed and how stringent the final treaty could be.
A number of nations have included calls to address the issue plastic pellet pollution as part of their submissions ahead of INC-2. You can find your governments stance on plastic pellet regulation here. By including plastic pellets in a final treaty, the amount of new virgin plastic produced could be reduced, and regulation addressing the handling of plastic pellets improved throughout the plastic life cycle. However not all nations are in agreement on how the treaty should address plastic pollution. This means that it is vital to continue to push policy makers to advocate for the inclusion of plastic pellets in the final treaty!
Find out more
In preparation for the second round of negotiations we hosted a webinar to help understand how the global plastic treaty could address plastic pollution and the action you can take to influence the negotiations. You can watch the full recording here.
Further information and resources on the Global Plastics Treaty, including how you can get involved can be found here on our information hub here.
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