The fourth intergovernmental negotiation INC-4 concluded successfully on April 29, and the road ahead to solve plastic pollution is bumpy

“Plastic will probably be around forever, but this meeting It should be over! " After more than seven days of intense negotiations, The fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4), which aims to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, has concluded.

exist All at the closing meeting , Chairman Luis Vayas Valdivieso proposed that the delegates agreed to establish a legal drafting group to ensure legal clarity for ILBI. A committee was also established Two intersessional expert groups , used for :

• Undertake studies to explore possible resources and instruments to achieve the objectives of the Treaty, including options for establishing financial mechanisms, regulating financial flows and promoting financial development;
• Identify and analyze standard and/or non-standard methods related to plastic contamination and chemicals in plastic products and product design, with a focus on Recyclability and reproducibility of plastic products and their uses and applications .

During the meeting that day, the representatives reviewed and revised the streamlined part of the revised draft text, related to just transition Relevant issues, preamble, objectives, scope and principles guiding the new agreement, as well as technical issues to be addressed in ILBI. They met again and finally in the contact group to hear progress reports from the co-facilitators and discuss next steps for the text, including using the simplified text reviewed in INC-4 for line-by-line presentation at the next meeting of the INC of negotiations.

in about Problematic and alternative plastics During the discussion, representatives disagreed on whether to identify problematic and alternative plastic products globally through common standards and list them in annexes, use national standards guided by annexes, or list them at the national level. Are these measures required (or encouraged): Completely ban, phase out, gradually reduce, standardize, and restrict related products , there are also different opinions; and whether these measures involve manufacture , use , Production , Sale , Distribution as well as import and export There are also different views on part or all of it.

in about Financing issues At the final meeting of the group, the group members agreed not to revisit the streamlined copywriting , to improve efficiency. The text has provisions for establishing/designating financial mechanisms and mobilizing resources. These will be key components in the implementation of ILBI and will benefit from intersessional work in order to strengthen the final provisions.

Two contact groups on Technical issues and implementation measures It also concluded early Monday evening, with the respective co-chairs reporting to the plenary session on the progress of their respective work, which was contained in an informal paper reflecting a streamlined version of the groups' discussions this week. These jobs will become INC-5 basis for negotiation.

There is still much work to be done to close the gaps from all sides and bridge the differences regarding the scope and objectives of ILBI. This is obvious because the discussion copy technical elements sessions on everything from problematic and alternative plastics to product design, ingredients and performance, Several almost exist Disagreement exists on all discussion points . Intersessional work is expected to ease delegates’ INC-5 work.

INC-4 officially closes on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at 3:17 a.m. (Ottawa time)

Meeting official Link: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-4

INC-5 will be November 25 to December 1, 2024 exist Busan, South Korea Held as the final meeting of the INC process. This will be followed by an official diplomatic meeting, where representatives from various countries will sign the ILBI agreement.

Meeting official Link: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-5