Plastic has very quickly become a big part of our everyday lives. Every year, the world produces about 430 million metric tonnes of plastic. While plastic is a very useful material in many ways, over 90% of the plastic that pollutes our planet is made up of single-use plastics, such as plastic cutlery, and microplastics, such as those added to cosmetic products.

Currently, an estimated 9 - 14 million tonnes of plastic pollution ends up in our oceans every year. Plastic waste has been found in all areas of the globe, from the deepest seas to the most remote mountains. It causes major harm to wildlife and ecosystems, but also disrupts the livelihood of millions of people, as well as posing significant risk to human health and the world economy.

Plastic production also contributes to enormous amounts of greenhouse gasses. The UN Environment Programme estimates that if we continue with business as usual, by 2040 plastic production could account for 19% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions.

Plastic pollution doesn’t recognise borders. This is a global issue that requires a global response, and no single country can solve it on its own.
 
In 2022, UN Member States agreed to start negotiating a new global treaty to end plastic pollution. This is an historic step towards protecting wildlife, the environment, and humans from the dangerous effects of plastic pollution. Now it is crucial that we ensure the treaty is ambitious and effective enough to truly address the plastic crisis, and end plastic pollution once and for all.

This treaty will be a legally binding, international agreement defining what measures to take, how we must implement them and when.

The negotiations provide an historic opportunity to unlock the systemic change that the world needs to tackle this escalating environmental crisis. Failure by negotiators to agree on an ambitious treaty is not an option.

An ambitious and equitable global plastic treaty will include effective measures along the full lifecycle of plastics. The treaty must accelerate a just transition and be built on the voices of the communities that are most affected by plastic pollution. 

To ensure that world leaders deliver the treaty that people and nature need, WWF has identified four essential elements that – as a minimum – states must secure:

1. Global bans and phase-outs of the most harmful plastics and chemicals of concern

2. Binding global product design requirements and systems for a non-toxic circular economy

3. Aligned financial flows and resources for systems change

4. Mechanisms to strengthen and adapt measures over time

Read more about WWF's Must Haves. 

The decision to start negotiating such a treaty at UNEA 5.2 in March 2022 was a result of years of campaigning  from NGOs, scientists, civil society and businesses, as well as political dedication and will.

Now the treaty text is being negotiated through a series of meetings around the world. The Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC) is the name of the forum where governments meet to negotiate the content of the future treaty, and these meetings are key moments in the negotiation process. All UN member states are welcome to participate, while civil society, right-holder groups and industry are permitted to attend as observers.

The treaty is set to be finalized by the end of 2024, and formally adopted in 2025. After that, there will be annual COPs (Conference of the Parties) similar to the process for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, The Basel Convention on Trade in Hazardous Waste/the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and other international agreements.

Negotiation milestones and meetings:

• INC-1 -  Punta del Este, Uruguay 28 November - 2 December 2022
• NC-2 -  Paris, France 29. May - 2. June 202
• INC-3 - Nairobi, Kenya 13.-19. November 202
• UNEA 6 - Nairobi, Kenya, 26. February - 1. March 202
• INC-4 - Ottawa, Canada, 23. - 29. April 2024
• INC-5 - Busan, Republic of Korea,  25. November - 1. December 2024​
• INC-5.2 - TBD