In March 2022, as part of efforts to address the triple planetary crisis, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the negotiation of an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution – the Plastics Treaty. Negotiations began later that year, in November 2022, under the format of an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), with the ambition to carry out five negotiating rounds and concluding the agreement by the end of 2024. As of November 2024, the INC had convened four times. INC-4 concluded in Ottawa with a complex compiled draft text. Members also agreed to conduct intersessional work and convene two ad hoc open-ended expert groups to discuss issues related to means of implementation (including financial mechanisms), and approaches to plastic products and chemicals of concern. INC-5 was scheduled to take place in late November 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea. I attended these meetings as an observer, conducting empirical research as part of my PhD work at Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law. This blog post offers my impressions, observations, and initial reflections on how the negotiations unfolded during INC-5.
Globalisation & Law Network seminar with Aleydis Nissen
On 11 December 2024, the Globalisation & Law Network had the pleasure to welcome Dr Aleydis Nissen, Senior Research Fellow at the Fon
