INC-5 Wrap-up: What’s Next for the Global Plastics Treaty
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BY: Anthony Merante
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The fifth, and what was supposed to be the final, round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty at the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) just concluded in Busan, South Korea on December 1, 2025. The result? After over a year of hard work from delegates across the world, there is still no finalized Global Plastics Treaty, which means more negotiations are to come.
While delegates at INC-5 could not come to a consensus on the final text of the Plastics Treaty, the fight against plastic pollution is not over yet. Coming fresh from INC-5, and having attended the previous meetings, I can report that the negotiations were a mosaic of progress and challenges. Most notably for me, as someone working on strong plastic pollution action in Canada, I was enthused to see my country taking a stronger stance on the global stage. Let’s dive into some key takeaways of INC-5, and what this means for the future of the Global Plastics Treaty and for our fight for oceans free of plastic pollution.
PROGRESS
Harmful plastic chemicals and their negative impacts on human health took the Treaty negotiations by storm. Countries are overwhelmingly pushing to integrate human health into the Treaty text and to ban harmful plastic chemicals. Both doctors and government officials are warning about the serious harm plastics and their chemicals are having on human health – including cancers, hormone disruption, autism, and infertility. Other important elements of the Plastics Treaty text continued to move forward, including language around Extended Producer Responsibility frameworks and financing mechanisms to transition away from harmful plastics.
CHALLENGES
220 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered at INC-5, marking the highest number at any Global Plastics Treaty negotiation so far—surpassing the 196 registered at INC-4. To put that to scale, together these lobbyists would be the single largest delegation at INC-5; more than the host Republic of Korea’s 140 representatives and more than the delegation from the European Union and all of its Member States combined (191). With the Global Plastics Treaty’s clear mandate of “ending plastic pollution,” this high concentration of fossil fuel lobbyists has created an uneven playing field at the negotiating table that want to keep producing plastics.
Additionally, the low ambition countries – including Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, and Iran – continued with tactics to delay the negotiations, including re-opening discussions about the scope and objective of the Treaty, and demanding exemptions from legally complying with the Treaty. They also re-opened discussions around simple definitions by asking questions like “what is plastic pollution?” and “what is plastic?” – terms that are already embedded in national regulations worldwide and were established in earlier rounds of Treaty negotiations. These countries also pushed to remove key aspects of the Treaty text, including the impacts of plastics on human health, chemicals of concern, and limits on plastic production for developing nations.
CANADA’S LEADERSHIP
Canada demonstrated strong leadership during the INC-5 Global Plastic Treaty negotiations, aligning itself with the High Ambition Coalition – a group of 68 progressive and ambitious countries – in advocating for a robust and effective Treaty. Notably, Canada and countries like Rwanda, Norway and Peru put forward a draft section of the Treaty to ban harmful plastic chemicals in common products that put the environment and people at risk. Further, Canada signed on to a proposal with over 100 countries to reduce plastic production and track the full life cycle of plastics. These actions built momentum towards finalizing the draft Treaty text and showcased key steps to effectively end plastic pollution. In a further display of commitment, Canada was appointed as a co-chair in a Legal Drafting group; this role will ensure the Treaty’s objectives and implementation measures are grounded in solid legal frameworks.
All of these efforts highlight Canada’s dedication to addressing plastic pollution at the global level. However, while this work on the international stage is critical, it is equally important to accelerate efforts here at home to reduce plastic pollution and protect our environment.
Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, stated:
WHAT’S NEXT?
Unfortunately, critical differences in countries’ approaches to the Global Plastics Treaty stalled its finalization. While UN negotiations aim for consensus to bring all countries on board, there is apprehension around majority-rules voting, which risks leaving some countries behind. After five rounds of negotiations, it is evident that consensus on a strong Global Plastics Treaty is unlikely. Ambitious countries refuse to sign a weak Treaty focused on downstream solutions like recycling, promoting more pollution and greenwashing. Countries will reconvene in 2025 for INC-5.2 negotiations, as they have not finalized the Treaty’s text.
Oceana Canada will work to hold Minister Guilbeault and Canada to their commitments. Canada can show the world that stopping plastic pollution is possible, by implementing strong policies right here at home. For starters, Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada can ban harmful plastic chemicals – like per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (aka PFAS), phthalates and other known plastic chemicals to protect Canadians – and expand on existing plastic reduction policies to safeguard the oceans.
