August 5, 2025 | Tuesday
The morning of the first day of INC-5.2, the plenary room was jammed and buzzing with anticipation. The main question going into negotiations is whether the majority of countries will stand strong against the small group of petro-states attempting to weaken the treaty, especially on the question of mandatory production cuts.
The Chair opened the negotiations in plenary by acknowledging the vital expertise of civil society, and he reminded Member States that they all adopted the UNEA-5.2 mandate for a legally binding plastics treaty that covers the full life-cycle of plastic. This reminder may have been pointed, as the small but vocal group of obstructing countries have questioned the scope of the treaty, insisting that it be focused on waste management alone.
As soon as he laid out the organization of work, the first Member State to speak was (surprise, surprise) Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the Arab Group. They expressed disappointment that Article 6 (which covers the option for plastic polymer production reduction) is still included in the negotiations. Iraq echoed that sentiment. The Chair responded that all articles must be given a chance to be negotiated. This early intervention right out of the gate sets the tone for the negotiations– article 6 is going to be a key battleground.
With limited space for civil society observers, just under 15 of the 618 observer organizations were given the time to speak at today’s opening plenary. However, those interventions showed the wide range of actors under the broad definition of “observers.” On one side, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Plastics, Scientists Coalition, and Break Free From Plastic all made powerful interventions. John Beard Jr. on behalf of Break Free From Plastic stated, “Let’s be clear: these negotiations have been captured by the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries.”
On the other side of “observers,” the International Council of Chemical Associations and the Society of Plastics Engineers spoke, mentioning “circularity,” industry code for focusing on waste management instead of reduction, and promoting “chemical recycling,” a toxic waste-burning process.
While GAIA was not able to make an intervention on the floor, we have recorded it for viewing and reading. In it we state, “Multilateralism is at risk, not because of disagreement, but because unanimity has been weaponized to block progress. Voting is not division; it is democracy. It allows countries to act on their national capacities, so often invoked in this room, without paralyzing collective ambition. If sovereignty is non-negotiable, then so too is the right of others to move forward.”
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For more information, visit GAIA’s webpage
Op-ed in the Rappler: Plastic Pollution Won’t Wait for Consensus
Investigation: New Global Market for “Plastic Credits” Threatens Livelihoods at Kenyan Dump
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About GAIA
GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 1,000 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries. With our work we aim to catalyze a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution. We envision a just, zero waste world built on respect for ecological limits and community rights, where people are free from the burden of toxic pollution, and resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped.
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