Dr Alexandra R. Harrington is Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Pollution Law Specialist Group (formerly the Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force), Executive Director of ...
IUCN COMMISSION GROUP
IUCN WCEL Pollution Law Specialist Group
Group leadership
Dr Alexandra HARRINGTON
Chair
Dr Alexandra R. Harrington is Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law Pollution Law Specialist Group (formerly the Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force), Executive Director of Nomomente and a Visiting Scholar at the McGill University Faculty of Law. She is a legal delegate for the IUCN at the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, where she also advises and represents several West African countries, as well as for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, SAICM and the Global Framework on Chemicals, Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution, and various UNEP consultations relating to all forms of pollution. Dr Harrington is one of 25 Appointed Experts for the UNEP/WHO Expert Group on updating the State of the Science Report on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). She has held two Fulbright terms in Canada at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, focusing on global governance issues, including the 2018 - 2019 Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance. She is the Director of Studies for the International Law Association of Colombia and sits on the editorial boards of multiple academic publications.
Dr. Harrington is the author and co-editor of several books, including International Organizations and the Law (1st edition 2018, 2nd edition 2023), International Law and Global Governance: Treaty Regimes and Sustainable Development Goals Interpretation, Just Transitions and the Future of Law and Regulation, The Future of Peace: Incorporation of Intergenerational Equity and Justice in Peace Treaties and Reconciliation Agreements, and several forthcoming monographs relating to transitional justice, international organizations governance, and just transitions. She routinely advises international organizations and governments on legal issues relating to international law, pollution regulation, treaty negotiation, climate change, governance issues, environmental law, sustainable development and international human rights law. She holds a Doctorate of Civil Law (McGill University Faculty of Law), in addition to a JD, LL.M. and BA degrees in Politics and History.
Ms Angelique POUPONNEAU
Deputy Chair
Dr Angelique Pouponneau is the Lead Ocean Negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). She is an Attorney-at-Law/Barrister and holds a PhD from the University of Malta's Islands and Small States Institute, where her research examined enabling legal environments for sustainable ocean economies in Small Island Developing States. She has over a decade of experience working across SIDS jurisdictions in the Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian Ocean regions. She previously served as CEO of the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) and Chief of Staff to the United Nations’ Secretary General’s Climate Action Team.
Dr Angelique Pouponneau is the Lead Ocean Negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). She is an Attorney-at-Law/Barrister and holds a PhD from the University of Malta's Islands and ...
1. About the Pollution Law Specialist Group
The creation of a new, dedicated Pollution Law Specialist Group within the WCEL will build on the successes and lessons from the WCEL Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force (Task Force) (2022 – 2025). Included in these lessons was the need for WCEL’s expertise in the overall pollution sector, which is an essential element in the triple planetary crisis as well as emerging international law norms. Indeed, the timing of the SG’s creation aligns with the implementation of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution (ISP-CWP), in which the Task Force was actively involved during the negotiations phases, as well as the ongoing negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty and the first meeting of the Global Framework on Chemicals in 2026, following the Task Force’s involvement with this process. The PLSG is also coming to life at a time when there is an increased focus on the need for the recognition of synergies between Multilateral Environment Agreements, notably in the pollution sphere, and offers the chance for the WCEL to grow its already well-respected position in these discussions. Further, the highly successful collaboration between the Task Force and IUCN Headquarters, particularly the Centre for Policy and Law, will be continued in the work of the PLSG and the expanded scope to Pollution Law overall will allow for further engagement with IUCN Headquarters during the 2025 – 2029 period.
The PLSG leadership team for the 2021-2024 quadrennium will comprise a Chair and a DeputyChair. The Chair and Deputy-Chair will be responsible for the overall coordination of activities and act as a liaison between the PLSG and other WCEL and IUCN specialist groups and entities and IUCN Headquarters. The PLSG will meet at least three times a year in regular virtual meetings. Additional working meetings will be convened by the leadership team as deemed necessary.
2. Core Areas of Focus for the PLSG
Below are the priority areas of focus for the PLSG. These priority areas reflect the experiences of and insights from the work of the Task Force and will allow the PLSG to be a leader in academic and negotiation spaces as well as a continued source of support to IUCN Member States and Headquarters.
A. Plastic Pollution
The Task Force was an active and visible participant in the entire INC process to date, from preparatory work for INC-1 onward. As this process unfolds, the PLSG will continue this work and presence. It will participate actively in INC-5.3 (February 2026), the anticipated INC-5.4 (2026) and additional INC meetings. If there is a decision to go outside the UNEP system, continue to provide legal guidance and support throughout this process. The PLSG Chair will continue to serve as the WCEL representative in these negotiations, coordinating with IUCN Headquarters as well as IUCN Member States.
The focus on plastic pollution will advance the terms of UNEA Resolution 5/14 (2022) and multiple IUCN Resolutions, including Resolution 7.069, Eliminate plastic pollution in protected areas, with priority action on single-use plastic products” (2020) and Resolution 8.054, Recognition of the rights of Antarctica (2025), and IUCN Recommendation 3.088, Support the ‘Ban Amendment’ to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal (2004), and Recommendation 17.19 on Waste (1988).
Activities:
a) Convene at one workshop and/or webinar.
b) Continue to participate in the negotiations and to advise IUCN and its Members.
c) Develop responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups.
Outputs:
a) At least one workshop and/or webinar per year.
b) Participation in all negotiation sessions.
c) Publication of responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups.
B. Chemicals, Pollution and Hazardous Waste
From 2022 onward, the Task Force worked with IUCN Headquarters to establish IUCN’s presence in multiple treaty bodies relating to chemicals, pollution and hazardous waste, notably the Basel Convention, the Rotterdam Convention, the Stockholm Convention, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the SAICM Process and Global Framework on Chemicals, and the Open-Ended Working Group process leading to the creation of the ISP-CWH under UNEA Resolution 5/8 (2022).
Initially, the Task Force provided guidance and insights on connections between plastic pollution and each of these treaties, and it was included in official side events as well as in additional consultations convened by the United Nations Environment Programme. For the 2025 – 2029 period, the PLSG will expand its focus to include all aspects of pollution as well as mining and minerals, while also continuing its work on the nexus with plastic pollution.
It will continue to provide legal analysis, expertise to IUCN Headquarters and to IUCN Members, furthering IUCN Resolution 19.47, Marine Pollution (1994), Resolution 2.91, Ocean pollution by oil (2000), Resolution 3.068, Undersea noise pollution (2004), Resolution 5.081, Addressing ocean noise pollution in Africa (2012), Resolution 7.113, Restoring a peaceful and quiet ocean (2020), Resolution 7.028, Updating of the legislation to stop the pollution of oceans caused by the discharging of wastewater by ships (2020), Resolution 5.066, Antarctic and the Southern Ocean (2012), Resolution 5.136, Effective strategy and actions to address the worsening problem of petrochemical plastic and other solid wastes (2012), Resolution 3.069, Status of floating atomic power stations in the world’s oceans (2004), Resolution 7.058, Safeguarding coral reefs from harmful chemicals in sunscreen (2020), Resolution 7.122, Protection of deep-ocean ecosystems and biodiversity through a moratorium on seabed mining (2020), Resolution 7.121, Reducing the impacts of the mining industry on biodiversity (2020), Resolution 5.090, Exploration and exploitation of unconventional fossil fuels (2012), Resolution 7.008, Protecting rivers and their associated ecosystems as corridors in a changing climate (2020), Resolution 17.20, Transfer of Technology Related to Contaminating Products, including Pesticides (1988), Resolution 1.63, Organic Agriculture (1996), Resolution 7.124, Taking action to reduce light pollution (2020), Resolution 5.183, Dark skies and nature conservation (2012), Resolution 16/4, Atmospheric Pollution (1984), Resolution 17.18, Depletion of Ozone (1988), Resolution 5.087, Energy and conservation (2012), Resolution 4.081, Equitable access to energy (2008), Resolution 3.086, Coordination of sustainable development programmes for energy (2004), Resolution 15.14, Environmental effects of acid rain and snow and other acid deposition (1981), and Resolution 16.4, Atmospheric pollution (1984).
Activities:
a) Convene at one workshop and/or webinar.
b) Continue to participate in the negotiations and to advise IUCN and its Members.
c) Develop responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups.
Outputs:
a) At least one workshop and/or webinar per year.
b) Participation in all negotiation sessions.
c) Publication of responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups
C. Mining, Minerals and Metals
The Task Force was involved in consultations with UNEP on legal aspects of mining, minerals and metals, particularly in the extractive processes, and the PLSG will continue this work on a larger scale. Based on the outcome of UNEA 6 and UNEA 7, as well as many of the IUCN Resolutions referenced above, the PLSG will engage in analysis of and provide expertise on topics including efforts to regulate lead, arsenic, cadmium and organotins at the international level.
Activities:
a) Convene at one workshop and/or webinar.
b) Continue to participate in the negotiations and to advise IUCN and its Members.
c) Develop responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups.
Outputs:
a) At least one workshop and/or webinar per year.
b) Participation in all negotiation sessions.
c) Publication of responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups.
D. Cross-Cutting Measures
In the course of the Task Force’s work, it engaged on analysis of the connections between OneHealth and plastic pollution. In the future, the PLSG will advance analysis and understanding of the connections between OneHealth and pollution issues more broadly, also furthering IUCN Resolution 8.098, Advancing the One Health approach for biodiversity, global health and global cooperation, generally. Similarly, the connections between human rights and pollution law were a focus of the Task Force which will continue as cross-cutting areas of focus for the PLSG. In addition, and in close cooperation with IUCN Headquarters, the PLSG will examine the connections between environmental crimes and pollution.
Activities:
a) Convene at one workshop and/or webinar.
b) Continue to participate in the negotiations and to advise IUCN and its Members.
c) Develop responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups.
Outputs:
a) At least one workshop and/or webinar per year.
b) Participation in all negotiation sessions.
c) Publication of responsive legal briefs for negotiators and other interested States and groups.
3. Reporting
The Chair and Deputy Chair will provide the WCEL Chair and Deputy Chair with a full report on the status of PLSG’s activities by the end of December every year.
Pollution Law SG - Terms of Reference (TORs) 2025-2029
4. Information on previous work
In advance of INC-1 in November 2022 in Uruguay, the IUCN WCEL Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force issued 5 briefing notes for negotiators and others interested in the core issues that must be addressed from the outset of the negotiations process. For more information, please see: https://www.iucn.org/our-union/commissions/group/iucn-wcel-agreement-plastic-pollution-task-force/resources.
5. Resources
Briefing: Alternative pathways for negotiating a Global Plastics Treaty
Briefing for Negotiators: Alternative International Agreements to Address Plastic Pollution
6. Contact Information:
Please, not hesitate to contact the PLSG leadership team should you have any questions, comments or suggestions:
Chair: Alexandra R Harrington
E-mail: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-harrington-8aa9b212
Deputy Chair: Angelique Pouponneau
E-mail: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelique-pouponneau-33372120