Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5)

Sophia Tazi
Feb 24
3 min read

Updated: Jun 12

24th February 2025

By Sophia Tazi (Net Zero Analyst, UCL Green Economy Society)

The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) was a pivotal moment in the context of the ongoing effort to develop a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution.

Held from 25th of November to 1st of December 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea 🇰🇷, this session brought together over 3,360 participants, including representatives from 170 countries and observers from 440 organisations [1].

While the session demonstrated widespread commitment to addressing plastic pollution, it also highlighted deep divisions that hindered progress toward a final agreement.

Context and History

The INC was established in 2022 following a historic resolution at the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2).

This resolution was adopted to develop a treaty addressing the full life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal. With negotiations set to conclude by the end of 2024, the INC has met four times since its creation, managing to overcome initial procedural challenges and initiating text-based discussions.

The objective of INC-5 was to work toward an agreement on the final treaty.

Motivations for a global treaty

Plastic pollution is a global crisis, with waste projected to triple by 2060, according to the 2022 OECD Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060, causing devastating harm to human health and the environment, ecosystems and climate [2].

Despite numerous initiatives by individuals, organisations and governments to tackle plastic pollution, the absence of a coordinated global framework has left these efforts fragmented and unable to effectively address the issue.

A global treaty is crucial to establish uniform standards on accountability, financing, import/export restrictions and chemical safety, aligning efforts to reduce production, enhance recycling, and mitigate pollution.

Key Outcomes of INC-5

Despite long hours of negotiations, INC-5 ended without a finalised treaty as countries could not agree on the fundamental scope of the agreement.

The session was suspended with plans to reconvene in 2025. Delegates agreed to base future negotiations on the Chair’s Text, issued on 1 December, which remains open to revisions.

Progress was made in areas such as product design and waste management, but critical disagreements persisted.

Key points of contention included:

Plastic Production Caps: While 100 countries supported capping production to sustainable levels, oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia opposed such measures, arguing it is beyond the scope of the treaty and citing economic concerns [3].
Hazardous Chemicals: While over 80 countries at INC-5 demanded strong measures, such as global bans on harmful plastics and chemicals, calls for strict regulation failed to reach a consensus [4]. The current draft lacks binding commitments and includes weaker alternatives, leaving significant gaps to negotiate.
Financial Mechanisms: Limited progress was made in discussions around financing, with disagreements centred on establishing an adequate financial mechanism to assist developing countries in implementing treaty obligations.
Transparency and Accountability: Efforts to enforce binding transparency measures in the plastic lifecycle met resistance from some nations.

Challenges Ahead

The extensive participation of fossil fuel and chemical industry representatives highlighted the economic stakes tied to plastic production.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) counted 220 fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists registered to attend INC-5 [5].

With plastics, predominantly derived from crude oil and natural gas, accounting for around 12% of global oil consumption, achieving consensus on a treaty to limit production will be a challenging and contentious task [6].