Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee
#Online Committee
Topic
Developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment
None of us is unfamiliar with the issue of plastic pollution, as we have always been taught the adverse consequences of the overconsumption of plastic since our childhood. We have grown up surrounded by many warnings: plastic waste harms the resilience of ecosystems, clogs our oceans, endangers creatures’ lives, and lingers for centuries, all of them suffocating our planet.
"So, the world wants an end to plastic pollution. The world needs an end to plastic pollution. I ask you to deliver an instrument this week that puts us on the road to providing just that, for thousands of days, months, and years to come.” - Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, INC-5.1
As such, now the responsibility to solve the plastic problem falls on you. In INC-5.2, you, as a delegate will simulate plenipotentiaries discussing an international instrument to tackle plastic pollution based on the UN Plastics Treaty on the table. While corresponding to national interests, your resolutions will elucidate any kinds of modifications of the treaty, ensure how states will implement as well as comply with the instruments, and in turn demonstrate the outcome of the INC’s position. Still, would the world finally commit to a strong and enforceable agreement, or would countries fail to find consensus and risk the unfettered spread of plastic pollution? The future of our planet’s fight against plastic pollution depends on your decision to make here.
Forum
International Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution
The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is the governing body of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as well as the world’s highest decision-making body on environmental issues. Comprising all 193 UN Member States, the UNEA is mandated to address emerging environmental challenges and review the progress in relevant policies.
Aware of the pressing need to respond to plastic pollution via an international framework, on 7 March 2022, the UNEA adopted its resolution 5/14, which stated in paragraph 3 that “[an] intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) is to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.” Structured as a multilateral forum, representatives of the INC conduct negotiation and consultation with a view to a holistic global treaty to curb the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal. INC membership is open to all States Members of the United Nations.
The international community has taken a bold step by drafting a UN Plastics Treaty and has entered the final phase of agreement. Originally, the INC was expected to complete its work towards its fifth session in 2024, but this was extended to August 2025 owing to the lack of consensus, where delegates will simulate at TransMUN 2025.
