Participants Asked Questions Continuously at the Informal In-person Conversation with Observers ahead of INC-5 in Busan, South Korea, on November 24, 2024 | On-site Report from the CBCGDF INC-5 Delegation

At 3:00-4:00 pm on November 24, 2024, Seoul time, just one day before 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), Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), His Excellency Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Chair of the INC, and Mrs. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), met with the observers attending the the Informal in-person Conversation with Observers ahead of INC-5 in Busan, South Korea, on November 24, 2024, and answered questions from the observer organization representatives on the spot. The dialogue meeting was packed with representatives of the contracting parties and observer organizations, and even stood in the back of the entire venue, which shows the high enthusiasm and high expectations of the observer organizations attending the meeting.

The INC-5, approved by the United Nations, will be chaired by Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. The first item of the dialogue meeting was a speech by Ms. Inger Anderson. In her speech, Inger said: Thank you to the observer organizations and other stakeholders for their expertise, advocacy, actions, questions raised, and opinions expressed, whether you like it or not, will be helpful. There are three hot issues in this treaty negotiation that still need to be further heard by everyone, one is product design and chemicals, the second is the supply of plastic products, and the third is financial issues. There are still differences on some key issues, and it is these differences that require everyone to continue to work together.

During the INC series of meetings, member states participated in it, and five meetings were held in two years. Compared with the regular meetings held once a year, the workload of the INC meeting is huge. Inger Anderson also mentioned that once this meeting reaches an agreement on the text, there will be a formal procedure, through which there will be a diplomatic conference to collect the text of this negotiation and then start the approval process. Once 60 countries approve it, it will come into effect. After that, the first Conference of the Parties will be held. In each dialogue, specific issues will be discussed. We will lay a strong foundation for this meeting and then start future work. Obviously, a high-income, very developed country will follow a different path than a low-income, small island developing state or a low-income or landlocked country in Africa. The public speculated that the success or failure of this meeting was uncertain, and the media predicted that the discussion on the plastic treaty would continue in Kenya. Ten thousand children from all over Kenya wrote letters to Inge and the UN Secretary-General in their own words and drawings, hoping to reduce plastic pollution.

After the three conference officials spoke, the free question session of the on-site observer organization began. This session was very lively and the on-site personnel asked questions enthusiastically. Some questions were even more sharp and attracted the attention of the whole audience. For example, the representative from the Alliance of Scientists for an Effective Plastics Treaty mentioned in his speech that science tells us that we need to be ambitious. The negotiation of the plastics treaty is to protect the health of the earth and human rights. Scientific evidence proves the harm of plastics throughout the life cycle. Three key elements based on science have been identified. First, reduce plastic production from the upstream of the plastic life cycle of the waste level. Second, the existing multilateral agreements do not fully address the chemical issues of human concern. They should be addressed throughout the life cycle of plastics to be effective. The treaty should be based on hazard assessment and use classification methods. Third, the expert group should follow the principles of transparency, inclusiveness and rigor to reduce conflicts of interest and guide and promote the emerging science of knowledge, systems and technologies. The representative finished his speech and aroused warm applause from the audience.

The above is the record and report of the CBCGDF delegation on the observer organization talk meeting. The CBCGDF delegation will transmit the latest INC-5 meeting information and progress in real time and objectively during the meeting from November 24 to December 1.

(This article is compiled from staff notes.)

Original article:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/lP-KwQye57FGDBQFaTubNw

Translator: Daisy

Reviewed by Sara

Editor: Daisy

Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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