The Prospects of an International Treaty on Plastic Pollution

Abstract

On 2 March 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) requested the Executive Director of UNEP to convene an international negotiating committee towards the negotiation of an international legally binding instrument on plastics by 2024. This article examines some of the proposed elements of such an instrument and outlines the next steps that can be expected in the negotiations. It also reflects on the results of the ad hoc open-ended working group to prepare for the work of the intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, which was convened in Dakar, Senegal, from 30 May to 1 June 2022. Ensuring legal certainty of key features of the new agreement, such as the circular economy and support for developing countries and countries with economies in transition, will be subject to particular scrutiny.