The fourth (and in principle, penultimate) meeting to prepare the future binding international treaty on plastic pollution control concluded its sessions early on Tuesday, April 30 in Ottawa (Canada) with a balance that, according to the organizers (the UN) and environmental organizations (such as WWF), can be described as moderately positive, with some small advances. Several non-governmental delegations present at the meeting as observers, including several groups from island countries and minority communities, have expressed their discontent with the slowness and lack of commitment in the negotiations, recalling the impact that plastic pollution (mostly produced and consumed by industrialized countries) in coastal areas, rivers and natural spaces in regions with few resources to address this problem.
The Ottawa international meeting (officially, Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Develop a Legally Binding International Instrument on Plastic Pollution, Including the Marine Environment (INC-4)) had among its objectives the first review of a draft text of this treaty promoted by the UN and, certainly, the delegates have been able to read and discuss some of the most important sections of this draft. And also highlighted, the document under study includes a reference – although inconcrete – about the need to limit the production of plastics on a global scale.
However, after seven days of negotiation, transcendental issues remain on the table, such as the scope of the limitation of plastic production, the determination of responsibilities in the problem of plastic pollution and the economic resources to reduce the effects of this pollution.
Erin Simon, director of the plastic products and waste area of ??the environmental organization WWF, present at the Ottawa meeting, has summarized the work of the INC-4 with these two assessments: “In the INC-4 there have been efforts to ensure that countries to make up for lost time. With the world watching, negotiators made progress by including some of the key elements necessary for a successful treaty.” Furthermore, to reach a final agreement, “a global alignment on ways to reduce our use of plastic and prevent it from leaking into nature will be necessary. More work must be done between now and the final round of negotiations if we are to achieve a effective and legally binding agreement (treaty) that people and the planet deserve.”
Journalist Jennifer McDermontt, the AP agency’s envoy to the Ottawa summit, highlights in the chronicle of the meeting that, “for the first time in the process, the negotiators discussed the text of what is supposed to be a global treaty. The “Delegates and observers of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution called it a welcome sign that the debate moved from ideas to treaty language at this fourth of five scheduled meetings.” Although no specific reduction is included, this section is maintained in the draft “despite strong objections from plastic-producing countries and companies and oil and gas exporters,” says McDermontt.
Michel Comte, AFP agency’s envoy to the Ottawa meeting, highlights in his closing report of the meeting the words of Julie Dabrusin, Canadian parliamentary secretary, indicating that in the negotiations of the last week there was “an enormous and monumental change in the tone and energy” compared to the previous round.
“I am really optimistic that we will be able to reach an agreement before the end of the year… to end plastic pollution by 2040,” Dabrusin said. However, the AFP journalist agrees with his AP colleague when he recalls that the draft does not include deadlines or quantities in a hypothetical limitation on plastic production.
The position of plastics producers could be summed up in the statements – collected by several agencies – of Stewart Harris, industry spokesperson for the International Council of Chemical Associations, stating that the objective is a treaty that focuses on recycling and reuse of plastic. Harris said his association is pleased to see governments coming together and agreeing to complete additional work, especially on financing and design of plastic products.
(Full text – unofficial translation – of the official statement from the United Nations Environment Program on the INC-4 meeting)
“More than 2,500 delegates participated in INC-4, representing 170 members and more than 480 observer organizations, including non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations and United Nations entities. INC-4 marked the largest and most inclusive meeting in the Committee to date, with observer participation increasing by almost fifty percent.
During the course of INC-4, delegates worked on the negotiation of the Draft Revised Text of the legally binding international instrument. Delegates discussed, among other things: emissions and releases; production; product design; waste management; problematic and avoidable plastics; financing and a just transition.
INC members also agreed to intersessional work (expert meetings that take place between official INC sessions) that is expected to catalyze convergence on key issues. Additionally, members decided to create an open-ended Legal Drafting Group to serve in INC-5, serving in an advisory capacity by reviewing elements of the revised draft text to ensure legal soundness.
“We came to Ottawa to advance the text and in the hope that members would agree on the intersessional work required to make even greater progress before INC-5. We leave Ottawa having achieved both goals and a clear path to an ambitious agreement in Busan ahead,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). “However, the work is far from over. “The plastic pollution crisis continues to plague the world and we have just months left before the agreed year-end deadline in 2022. I urge members to show continued commitment and flexibility to achieve the highest ambition.”
The fourth session follows INC-1 in Punta del Este in November 2022, INC-2 in Paris in May/June 2023 and INC-3 in Nairobi in November 2023. INC-5 – scheduled to be the end of INC process – Scheduled for November 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea.
“Canada is committed to reaching a final agreement on INC-5 in the Republic of Korea before the end of the year. We no longer talk about “if” we can get there, but about “how.” Together we can achieve one of the most important environmental decisions since the Paris Agreement and the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” said Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada. “We are doing everything we can to raise the international profile of the plastic pollution crisis so that the agreement receives the global attention it deserves until it crosses the finish line.”
INC President, Ambassador Luis Vayas, said: “During these seven days of intense deliberations, you – the delegates – have managed to develop and advance the draft revised text of the instrument, providing a simplified text and engaging in textual negotiations on several elements. . ”said Ambassador Vayas. “At the same time, we also leave with a much clearer picture of the work that remains to be done, if we are to fulfill the promise that Members have made through UNEA Resolution 5/14.”
“We are all united by our strong shared commitment to creating an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. It is this spirit of multilateralism that has guided our discussions here in Ottawa,” he added. “We have found some common ground and we are walking this path together until the end. “I firmly believe that we can bring this same spirit to Busan to fulfill our mandate.”
Ambassador Vayas thanked the Government of Canada for hosting the session, as well as the Committee members, observers, co-facilitators, support staff and the INC Secretariat and its team.
“It has been an ambitious timeline of just 18 months and four sessions to get to this point, and we are now firmly on the road to Busan. Commitment and compromise remain strong at this advanced stage of the negotiations,” said Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the INC Secretariat. “Members should arrive in Busan ready to fulfill their mandate and agree on a final text of the instrument. “This is more than a process: it is the fulfillment of their commitment to save future generations from the global scourge of plastic pollution.”
