Good morning from Geneva,
Summary: INC 5.2 concluded without an international legally binding instrument. Efforts on Wednesday and Thursday to resolve the significant gulf between perspectives on what the scope of the agreement should contain were unsuccessful.
Since our last update
The chair shared a revised draft text mid-Wednesday. The afternoon plenary that the chair hoped would be a brief, 30-minute update before undergoing discussions in regional meetings was over 3 hours. Countries used the opportunity to object to the concept of the late-week chairman’s draft, and to the text itself. Even French President Emmanuel Macron commented on the chair's version, calling it "unacceptable".
The remainder of Wednesday night consisted of closed sessions among countries in various arrangements: regional consultations, informals, and informal informals. These continued into Thursday. The scheduled plenary was delayed over 9 hours, suggesting that these negotiations were still making incremental progress behind the scenes. The chairman shared an additional revised text at about 2 am and held a Heads of Delegation meeting to discuss the text and path forward. Finally, after working throughout the night, a 6:30 plenary session was held where the Chairman informed the gathered that there was no final text and work should continue at a future session.
What’s next?
While disappointing, there is still opportunity and hope. Industry demonstrated commitment to an agreement, educated participants on the value and role of plastics, and highlighted the innovations and solutions we can contribute to address the challenge of plastic waste. And even with all the threats and rhetoric, there was not a vote to force the issue. There is also interest in a future session, meaning we aren't starting over and the work done by us and the negotiators won't be wasted in a reset.
At the UN level, there are still many unanswered questions, including:
- What text(s) would be the basis of future discussion?
- When and where would this next meeting occur?
- Are there any changes in the structure or format to resolve areas of disagreement?
- Would the next meeting be a 5.3 or a 6?
- Will there be future directions from the UN Environmental Assembly, who will be meeting in December 2025?
We will continue to have these and other questions you have answered to help inform us on how we will need to engage in the future.
Within the US, the work continues to ensure that whatever happens, the US government continues to participate in the treaty negotiation process to have a strong voice for an agreement that focuses on the priority issue of eliminating plastic waste in the environment.
Thank you again for your time to read this.
Patrick
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