On the 22nd March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly voted to establish a legally-binding agreement to deal with plastic pollution. It has become known as The Global Plastics Treaty. Work commenced on the treaty in May 2022. There were 5 sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) of the UN. These included representatives from each of the 175 member states as well as frontline workers, indigenous groups, petrochemical industry representatives, scientists, NGOs, educators, and other interested groups. To realise this vision, 5 sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) were planned. The first session started on November 28th 2022, the last ended on 1st December 2024.
As with the UN Climate Change Conferences, chemical and fossil fuel industry lobbyists dominated and perverted the global plastics treaty talks:
- They outnumbered the 70 smallest UN member states.
- They outnumbered the Scientists’ Coalition for An Effective Plastic Treaty by three to one, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus by almost nine to one.
- 17 lobbyists were identified as part of national delegations.
Complaints were made to the UN that petrochemical industry lobbyists used tactics similar to those used by tobacco lobbyists. For example:
- Employees of a US chemicals giant “formed a ring” around one scientist and bombarded them with claims that their research “misrepresented reality”.
- A representative of a US plastic packaging company interrupted a meeting he was not invited to attend to shout at an ecotoxicologist claiming them to be fear-mongering and spreading misinformation.
- Other scientists wanted to remain anonymous in their comments for fear of losing funding.
“Allowing fossil fuel and petrochemical companies to exert their influence in these negotiations is like letting foxes guard the henhouse. Their oversized presence threatens to turn a critical environmental agreement into a charade, undermining serious efforts to curb plastic production and pollution. Government negotiators must stand firm and ensure these talks are not hijacked by those with vested interests in maintaining the status quo.”
Von Hernandez
Global Coordinator, Break Free From Plastic
Given the failure to agree a treaty, another session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, INC-5.2, is to take place in Geneva, Switzerland from the 5th to 14th August 2025. Given the hindrances caused by petrochemical lobbyists, Greenpeace have produced a petition urging the UN to lock them out of the session. We urge you sign and share it.
