August 8, 2025 | Friday

Keep Your Promise, Fix the Process, End Plastic Pollution

Four days into the final Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, we are not on track to deliver a treaty that will protect people and nature. Enough is enough; something must change. We are joining the voices of waste pickers, frontline communities, scientists, healthcare professionals, children and youth, women, businesses, and non-governmental organisations around the world, calling on governments to step up. Fix the process, keep your promise, and finalise a meaningful treaty to end plastic pollution. 

After five rounds of negotiations over two years, and a repeat performance of obstruction from minority countries over the past four days, tensions are at a boiling point.  The “stocktake” plenary is scheduled for Saturday August 9, 2025 where co-chairs will give an update on the progress–or lack thereof– in negotiations thus far. This is the opportunity for ambitious countries to finally break through the consensus deadlock and call for a vote. 

See GAIA’s press release for details. 

Ambitious Proposals Gaining Momentum 

As we approach the mid-way point of negotiations, several ambitious Conference Room Papers (CRPs) have gained significant support amongst Member States. 

One is the Swiss/Mexico Proposal on Article 3: Plastic Products that we discussed in our daily recap on August 6. At the time of writing, 130 countries are in support. The proposal calls for a global ban on the production & trade of a list of harmful plastic products, including those containing some chemicals of concern. 

Another is the UK/Chile Proposal on Article 5: Product Design. To date 111 have signed on in support. This proposal recognizes the role of reuse in redesigning products. If we land a strong treaty that cuts plastic production, we will need to transition to toxic-free reuse practices and systems that are safe and sustainable. 

A key CRP to watch is the proposal for a standalone article on health, with 128 countries in support. The science is clear: plastic poses a serious and growing threat to our health and the health of future generations. Plastic has been found in our food, water, blood, stool, brain, placentas, breastmilk, and digestive systems. A plastics treaty must recognize the urgency of this issue and address it aggressively and decisively. 

Civil Society in Action

Today, the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Plastics held a press conference, where panelists shared how Indigenous communities are on the frontlines of the plastics crisis. Pangunnaaq Vi Waghiyi of Alaska Community Action on Toxics stated, “The Arctic has the most microplastics of all the oceans. Our elders call our ocean our farm. It has sustained my people for millenia…to learn that our main food, our waters and seals during our long winters are loaded with microplastics… These are burdens we didn’t create.” 

Aakaluk Adrienne Blatchford of the Indigenous Environmental Network stated,  “[With] colonization throughout the world we’re seeing that it’s harder and harder to maintain not only our food security but our identity as Indigenous People, because without the food and what the land provides, we can’t survive. There is no us.”

For more information: 

• GAIA Africa Daily Update
• Break Free From Plastic POPLite
• For more information, visit GAIA’s webpage 

PHOTOS

Media Contacts

Global Press Contact: 

• Claire Arkin | Claire@no-burn.org | +1 (973) 444 4869

Regional Press Contacts: 

• Africa: Carissa Marnce | carissa@no-burn.org | +27 76 934 6156
• Latin America: Camila Aguilera | Camila@no-burn.org | +56 9 8913 6198
• Asia & the Pacific: Robi Kate Miranda  | robi@no-burn.org I +63 927 585 4157
• United States & Canada: María Guillén | mariaguillen@no-burn.org | +1 609 553 4569

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. 

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and LinkedIn for live updates during INC-5, and our regional accounts:

GAIA Africa: Instagram, Facebook

GAIA LAC: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

GAIA Asia Pacific: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedInGAIA US Canada: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

August 7, 2025 | Thursday

Going around in Circles

It’s only Day 3 (out of 10) of the plastics treaty negotiations, and already nerves are starting to fray. While multiple conference room papers (CRPs) and statements show an incredible amount of convergence between the majority of countries, their proposals—which have been carefully developed in a months-long effort to build support amongst the Member States— are given the same amount of airtime as proposals dashed off and submitted by the vocal minority in a matter of days. This small group of nations refuses to budge, and fortunately ambitious countries have so far held the line on critical issues like production reduction, chemicals of concern, and a strong financial mechanism. With this stubborn minority trying to prevent any substantial progress in contact groups, once again Member States are faced with long days and profound uncertainty. 

The question on everyone’s mind is: will any country put a stop to this relentless consensus-based, groundhog day situation and reestablish democracy? The stocktake plenary (where contact group chairs will report progress–or lack thereof– made in contact groups thus far) will take place on Saturday if all goes according to plan. If a call for a vote happens, it might happen then. Grab your popcorn.  

Negotiations on Article 5: Product Design 

On day 2 of negotiations, GAIA members were encouraged by the growing Member State support to add “non-toxic reuse” to Article 5 on product design. The inclusion of such a term will encourage the scaling of reuse globally as an alternative to the single-use model, and ensure that those reuse initiatives avoid plastic and other materials that contain hazardous chemicals. Some Member States are also strongly advocating that reference to the Basel Convention be retained in the text– the reasoning for this is that the Basel Convention regulates the trade of hazardous waste, including some, but not all types of plastics. The plastic waste trade has shown itself to be waste colonialism: wealthier countries shipping off their low-value plastic waste for lower-income countries to manage. The plastics treaty must close any loopholes in the Basel Convention by ensuring that any plastic waste trade is environmentally sound and follows prior notification and consent from receiving countries. 

Just Transition Under Threat

Up until now, reference to Just Transition in the treaty text has been a decided point of convergence, even amongst countries less enthusiastic about other progressive proposals. However, one country is now advocating to remove Just Transition from any part of the text. A Just Transition is essential for waste pickers and workers, Indigenous Peoples, and frontline communities most impacted by plastic pollution. Read the day’s joint statement from  Indigenous Peoples, Waste Pickers, and Unionized Workers to learn more about their demands. 

US Meddling with the Financial Mechanism (Article 11)

The United States has submitted a CRP promoting a “Public-Private Coordination Network” for article 11 on the financial mechanism, as an alternative to a global tax on polluters. These “innovative” partnerships could encourage polluting downstream approaches like “chemical recycling” and plastic credits, and would have no oversight from Member States through the COP (the body in charge of treaty implementation). Essentially, this could open a Wild West of private investment that wrests power and resources away from Member States, who should be the ones to control how money is being spent. The privatization of development finance has been shown historically to perpetuate inequities instead of solving global problems.  

Industry Infiltration 

According to a CIEL analysis, a record number 234 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists are registered to attend INC-5.2. Chemical and fossil fuel industry lobbyists outnumber the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastic Treaty (60) by nearly four to one, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus (36) by nearly seven to one.

Plastic Credits, Discredited 

Two hard-hitting investigations have come out over the past two days exposing the negative impact that plastic credits are having on waste pickers in Africa (Kenya and Ghana). Both revealed that while these credit projects claim to support waste picker livelihoods, waste pickers are often competing with instead of benefiting from these programs. In both cases, it was clear that the plastic credit projects were likely not even fulfilling their purpose of incentivizing more plastic collection and recycling— waste pickers were already doing that long before plastic credits came along. GAIA members have raised concerns about the inclusion of the term “innovative financing” in Article 11, which could open the door for further plastic credit projects as a supposed way of financing the treaty implementation, once again placing the power in the hands of private actors instead of governments, and focusing on ineffective waste management instead of waste reduction. With plastic industry groups behind these projects, one wonders who is really benefiting from the fiction of plastic credits… 

Civil Society in Action

Over 48 million health professionals from all over the globe, including the World Medical Association and the International Council of Nurses, are calling on world leaders to end plastic pollution—pushing for a just, equitable, and health-centered Global Plastics Treaty.

Greenpeace on staged a protest action at the gates to the Palais de Nations demanding big oil to be kicked out from the negotiations. 

For more information: 

• GAIA Asia Pacific Newsroom
• GAIA Africa Daily Update
• Break Free From Plastic POPLite
• Ghana’s waste pickers brave mountains of plastic – and big industry
• Seven countries produce majority of world’s plastics – Report
• For more resources, visit GAIA’s webpage 

PHOTOS

Media Contacts

Global Press Contact: 

• Claire Arkin | Claire@no-burn.org | +1 (973) 444 4869

Regional Press Contacts: 

• Africa: Carissa Marnce | carissa@no-burn.org | +27 76 934 6156
• Latin America: Camila Aguilera | Camila@no-burn.org | +56 9 8913 6198
• Asia & the Pacific: Robi Kate Miranda  | robi@no-burn.org I +63 927 585 4157
• United States & Canada: María Guillén | mariaguillen@no-burn.org | +1 609 553 4569

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. 

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and LinkedIn for live updates during INC-5, and our regional accounts:

GAIA Africa: Instagram, Facebook

GAIA LAC: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

GAIA Asia Pacific: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedInGAIA US Canada: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

August 6, 2025 | Wednesday

Member States spent the day in Contact Groups (a term for negotiating spaces). These spaces fall under Chatham House Rules, so while we cannot say explicitly which country said what, we can give some highlights of what was discussed and what the fault lines are. Across the board, there were attempts by a minority group to redefine what provisions are within the bounds of a plastics treaty, going against the central mandate that countries agreed upon at the inception of the plastics treaty negotiations— a legally binding instrument covering the entire life-cycle of plastic, from extraction to disposal, understanding that plastic is pollution at every stage of its existence. 

Article 3: Plastic Products and Chemicals of Concern

Contact Group 1 spent hours hashing it out on Article 3, which is meant to address the most problematic plastic products, and the myriad chemicals in plastic itself. Chemicals of “concern” is an understatement–a recent study showed that more than 4,200 chemicals in plastic were persistent, bioaccumulative, mobile or toxic, and The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately one quarter of all global deaths are attributable to environmental harm including chemicals, pollution and waste, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries.

Switzerland and Mexico submitted a Conference Room Paper (CRP),* which has gained significant traction with 77 countries signing on. The CRP calls for a global ban on trade of hazardous plastic products and chemicals of concern, and a requirement to reduce (and ban where feasible) harmful plastic products.

Despite its widespread support, several countries sought to weaken article 3, suggesting that global rules would threaten national economic development, that chemicals are covered by other environmental treaties, and that these issues should be addressed in subsequent COPs after a treaty is signed (which would effectively close the door to a legally-binding phase-out of harmful chemicals in plastics). 

In contrast, Brazil and South Korea facilitated a CRP that has no legally binding language to phase out plastic products and chemicals of concern. This comes as no surprise given that Brazil has been exposed for backtracking on its positions due to internal conflict and influence from the petrochemical industry. 

Rejecting Energy Recovery in Article 8

The Chair’s draft text that forms the basis of negotiations in INC-5.2 contains a reference to waste-to-energy in article 8, which covers plastic waste management. Burning  waste in “waste-to-energy” incinerators has been shown to create toxic and climate emissions, essentially turning one form of plastic pollution into another. If it remains in the text, this could encourage further investment and build-out of incinerators worldwide. Fortunately, several countries made interventions asking for waste-to-energy to be removed from the final text. We’re crossing our fingers. 

Article 11: The Need for a Dedicated Financial Mechanism 

The African Group of Negotiators created a strong convergence around its CRP introduced at INC-5, which calls for a dedicated financial mechanism that includes mandatory contributions from high-wealth and top-plastic producing countries to support lower income countries to meet the agreement, especially Pacific Small Island Developing States. However despite this level of agreement between Member States, the Chair did not take up the proposed language in his draft text for INC-5.2. Whether donor countries can agree to come to the table and pay for the pollution they cause in other countries remains a question. We hope to see the discussion on finances driving agreement later this week.

Other Conference Room Papers to Note

• Article 20: Colombia and Peru have proposed COP voting if consensus cannot be reached. This is critical for preventing deadlock when adding further annexes to the treaty after its signed.
• Article 7: UK and Panama have proposed that the article on leakages cover the entire life cycle of plastic, recognizing that plastic is a source of waste pollution from extraction to disposal, including microplastics. 

*Contact Groups are encouraging Member States to submit Conference Room Papers (CRPs)  with suggested text additions, and whichever CRPs have the most convergence amongst the Member States will be integrated into the Chair’s draft, which still forms the basis for negotiations. There have been many submissions already, which can all be found on the UNEP website here. 

For more information: 

For more information, visit GAIA’s webpage 

GAIA Asia Pacific Newsroom

GAIA Africa Daily Update

Break Free From Plastic POPLite

Plastics: The New and Final Colonizer

Se retoman las negociaciones del Tratado de plásticos en Ginebra, una oportunidad histórica para hacer frente a la contaminación por plásticos

Pollution plastique: les États africains en première ligne à Genève pour tenter de limiter la catastrophe

Media Contacts

Global Press Contact: 

• Claire Arkin | Claire@no-burn.org | +1 (973) 444 4869

Regional Press Contacts: 

• Africa: Carissa Marnce | carissa@no-burn.org | +27 76 934 6156
• Latin America: Camila Aguilera | Camila@no-burn.org | +56 9 8913 6198
• Asia & the Pacific: Robi Kate Miranda  | robi@no-burn.org I +63 927 585 4157
• United States & Canada: María Guillén | mariaguillen@no-burn.org | +1 609 553 4569

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. 

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and LinkedIn for live updates during INC-5, and our regional accounts:

GAIA Africa: Instagram, Facebook

GAIA LAC: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

GAIA Asia Pacific: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedInGAIA US Canada: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

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.” 

For more information: 

For more information, visit GAIA’s webpage 

GAIA Asia Pacific Newsroom

GAIA Africa Daily Update

Op-ed in the Rappler: Plastic Pollution Won’t Wait for Consensus 

Investigation: New Global Market for “Plastic Credits” Threatens Livelihoods at Kenyan Dump

Media Contacts

Global Press Contact: 

• Claire Arkin | Claire@no-burn.org | +1 (973) 444 4869

Regional Press Contacts: 

• Africa: Carissa Marnce | carissa@no-burn.org | +27 76 934 6156
• Latin America: Camila Aguilera | Camila@no-burn.org | +56 9 8913 6198
• Asia & the Pacific: Robi Kate Miranda  | robi@no-burn.org I +63 927 585 4157
• United States & Canada: María Guillén | mariaguillen@no-burn.org | +1 609 553 4569

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. 

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and LinkedIn for live updates during INC-5, and our regional accounts:

GAIA Africa: Instagram, Facebook

GAIA LAC: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

GAIA Asia Pacific: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedInGAIA US Canada: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter