The INC Chair’s “Aid to Negotiations” document for the Global Plastics Treaty – IUCN Legal Analysis

Plastic pollution is intrinsically linked to the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution. It affects terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, threatens food security and human health, and imposes significant economic costs on societies worldwide. The future international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution – the Global Plastics Treaty – presents a historic opportunity to address one of the most pervasive drivers of environmental degradation worldwide. Yet, the effectiveness of the treaty will ultimately depend on the ambition of its substantive obligations and on the availability of adequate, predictable, accessible and sustainable financial resources to support implementation. Effective implementation of the treaty represents an opportunity not only to reduce plastic pollution but also to advance biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, climate resilience and sustainable development.  

The release of the “Aid to Negotiations” document by the Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (GPT) marked an important step in efforts to re-start momentum toward textual advancement ahead of INC-5.4 in 2027. These efforts are essential as the global community prepares for the 2026 meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity COP and the UNFCCC COP, where plastic pollution intersections will be addressed, highlighting the importance of international cooperation and coordination for the preservation of biodiversity, human health and the environment and plastic pollution.

Drawing on lessons from other multilateral environmental agreements, including the Montreal Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), the new IUCN and IUCN WCEL Pollution Law Specialist Group (PLSG)  Legal Brief analyses the areas of concern in the “Aid to Negotiations” document, proposes article-by-article recommendations and emphasizes the need to comply with international law, international practice and the ambitions of the UNEA Mandate 5/14 on addressing the full life cycle of plastics, while delivering outcomes for People, Nature and Climate.  

IUCN WCEL Legal Briefing for Negotiators Analysis of the INC Chair’s Aid to Negotiations Document

As IUCN had rolled out the 2026–2029 Programme and gets ready to implement the IUCN Resolution 8.058 on “Advancing actions to end plastic pollution to protect human health, biodiversity and the environment” we aim to bridge global policy, regional and local conservation action, and regenerative economic models - helping countries and communities achieve healthy, resilient ecosystems and a just transition toward a nature positive circular and regenerative future.  In the INC Activities leading up to INC-5.4 IUCN and IUCN WCEL, as mandated by its members, will continue to play a catalytic role in supporting Member States and Stakeholders in policy discussions, reshaping pollution law, scaling up conservation solutions, and integrating plastics into the emerging paradigm of a Regenerative Blue Economy.