“We are drafting a treaty for the ages. A treaty to protect our environment, our health and our future. Getting this right is critical. And so, our work will continue.”

That was the commitment from the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, in the early hours of Monday morning when she closed the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5) in Busan Korea.

INC-5 was meant to conclude negotiations and finalise the text of the agreement. However, the seven-day meeting ended without a deal, with delegates agreeing to resume talks at a later date.

INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso said that more time is needed to effectively resolve the sticking points, and that a general consensus was reached to reopen the fifth round of negotiations at a later date, where negotiators will hope to conclude the talks.

“It is clear that divergence persists. That is reality of these negotiations,” said Andersen.  “We just need more time to craft a meaningful outcome: an instrument that hits the problem hard instead of punching below its potential weight. So, we may be closing this session today, but the world will still be watching tomorrow.”

More than 80 delegates from Pacific countries actively engaged in the different negotiation rooms, advocating their national and regional priorities. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) worked collaboratively with the Government of Vanuatu as Chair of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), and the Government of Samoa, as Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) to coordinate and strategise during long nights of negotiations. 

Speaking as Chair of PSIDS, Ambassador Odo Tevi, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Vanuatu to the United Nations, said the world must continue the work to deliver a global transformative change, not incremental steps, to effectively solve the plastic crisis.

“The Pacific knows too well that plastic pollution respects no borders. Plastic pollution is a transboundary crisis that requires an urgent collective global response. While the Pacific is on the frontline, the consequences of this crisis ripple across the world,” said Ambassador Tevi.

“The Pacific remains committed to delivering this outcome, and if that means we must again set out from our homes to talanoa with world leaders we will do it, we will continue to do it, until we have completed our task as custodians of the Ocean, and caretakers of our peoples.

“The future of our ocean, our communities, and our shared planet hangs in the balance. We cannot afford to fail.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by AOSIS Chair, Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Dr Pa’olelei Luteru, Samoa’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

“You had a difficult task, but we now have a full text that we are negotiating on. With this text, we have taken a large step forward and are nearing the end of a multilateral process to finally solve this global problem of plastic pollution,” said Ambassador Fatumanava.

“As we prepare for our next meeting in 2025, we think that the draft would serve as a suitable basis of negotiation when we reconvene. We have made significant progress here and would like to build on that momentum when we next meet.”

Ambassador Fatumanava added: “As we have said before, an ambitious and effective treaty is more important than an immediate treaty. In keeping with the mandate that we all agreed at UNEA 5.2, the future instrument needs to address the full life cycle of plastics for the prevention, reduction and elimination of plastic pollution.”

When the next meeting, and where it would be held, is not known. INC-5 follows four earlier rounds of negotiations: INC-1, which took place in Punta del Este in November 2022, INC-2, which was held in Paris in June 2023, INC-3, which took place in Nairobi in November 2023, and INC-4, held in Ottawa in April 2024.

The Busan negotiations established a strong foundation for an agreement. However, there were strong disagreements over regulating the production of plastic or plastic polymers, a key raw material sourced from fossil fuels, and funding for the execution of any final agreement.

While China, the world’s largest plastic producer, reportedly displayed a cooperative stance, Saudi Arabia and Russia — both oil-producing countries — were adamantly against regulating plastic production.

This story was originally published at SPREP on 02 December 2024, reposted via PACNEWS.