Global Plastics Summit - Report

Economist Impact convened the Global Plastics Summit, supported by The Nippon Foundation and Minderoo Foundation and held in association with Back to Blue in Bangkok on October 11-12th. Held just weeks after the release of a ’zero draft’ of the historic UN treaty to end plastic pollution and ahead of a critical meeting of treaty negotiators in Kenya in November, the summit provided a significant opportunity for stakeholders from governments, the science community, non-government organisations (NGOs) and the private sector to debate the details of the draft treaty.

Recommendations from the Global Plastics Summit:

• A robust science-policy interface to support negotiators in making evidence-based decisions. All delegations, including those from less developed countries and SIDS, must be able to access technical expertise.
• Allow a diverse group of stakeholders to participate in the negotiation process more substantively. This must include less developed countries, which need a stronger voice in negotiations, as well as communities, the private sector and scientific experts.
• A strengthened focus in the treaty on the unique needs of SIDS. The plastics crisis is an existential threat for these countries, which will require extensive support to implement an ambitious treaty.
• The treaty must adopt the precautionary principle regarding the health impacts of plastics and be flexible enough to continue to be tightened as the science evolves.
• Negotiators must agree on the treaty’s key definitions, principles and scope at the upcoming negotiation session. Signing the treaty by the end of 2024 will require an ambitious work programme between the formal negotiations, dubbed the ‘intersessional period’. The upcoming negotiations must deliver a clear mandate for this detailed work.