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Road to Geneva | Plastic Pollution INC-5.2

Mise à jour: 25 Août 2025

Produits chimiques et pollution | Plastiques

ODD3 | ODD12

The second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2) took place from 5 to 15 August 2025 in Geneva.

Plastics Treaty INC-5.2 « Offsite Buzz »

A compilation of resources and activities – including conferences, receptions, artistic and cultural demonstrations – that took place in the margins of INC-5.2 can be accessed here.

Second Part of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee

The second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2), took place from 5 to 15 August 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The session also counted on the presence of Ministers and other high-level officials from 12 to 14 August 2025. → Follow the Session through the Earth Negotiation Bulletin and live on UN TV.

Key documents include:

INC-5.2 Official Website

Outcomes

After ten days and nights of intense work in formal and informal settings, the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2) was adjourned at 09:11 a.m. on 15 August 2025 and will resume at a later date. This session was attended by more than 2,600 participants, including over 1,400 Member delegates from 183 countries, and close to 1,000 Observers representing over 400 organizations. In the last days of the session, 70 Ministers and Vice-Ministers, and 30 other high-level representatives joined for informal roundtables on the margins of the session.

While disappointment was expressed in the statements of many Member States during the closing plenary and in the press releases of observers, the commitment and readiness to continue working towards a Global Plastics Treaty remain unchanged. The UN Secretary General welcomed “the determination of Member States in continuing to work to beat plastic pollution and keep engaged in the process, united in purpose, to deliver the treaty the world needs to tackle this monumental challenge to people and the environment.” The commitment and engagement of the numerous organizations that joined the Geneva session are also a demonstration that the movement to end plastic pollution goes beyond the treaty in preparation.

Final statements and analyses on the outcomes of the meeting include:

This important negotiation made the headlines of numerous media for two weeks. Articles on the outcomes from journalists who joined on-site include:

Livestream

Plenary 15 August 2025

Previous Plenary Sessions

Plenary (14 August 2025) | Plenary (13 August 2025) |  Plenary (9 August 2025) | Opening Plenary  (5 August 2025)

UNEP – Media Stakeout: INC-5.2 on Plastic Pollution (15 August 2025)

Highlights

Previous Days

Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1 | Day 0

Analyses and News at INC-5.2

Press Releases and Statements

Daily Analyses

Positions

In the Media

Artwork in the Margins of INC-5.2

The artist Benjamin Von Wong will be building a giant sculpture – The Thinker’s Burden – on Place des Nations during the Plastics Treaty negotiation. → If you want to get involved or support, . If you’re based in Geneva and can help collect plastics, check the Plastics Collection Guide. See the artist’s past projects.

This sculptural remix of Rodin’s The Thinker — cradling a child, seated on Mother Earth, and wrapped in a strand of DNA (the building block of life) — will be slowly buried in plastic waste each day of the negotiations, symbolizing the rising toxicity, generational burden, and irreversible cost of political inaction.

The Thinker’s Burden is a call to conscience — a shared visual symbol for delegates, citizens, and organizations alike. It asks us to take responsibility for addressing plastic pollution, not just for ourselves, but for all future generations to come. It is a reminder that solving the plastics crisis requires more than simple fixes or recycling myths — it demands thoughtful, systemic action across the entire lifecycle of plastic to ensure that our solutions don’t become tomorrow’s regrets. → Join the inauguration at Place des Nations on 7 August 2025 from 18:30 CEST

International Geneva at INC-5.2

As a global hub for environmental governance, in particular for chemicals and waste issue, Geneva hosts many organizations whose work is highly relevant for the development of a new instrument on plastic pollution. Learn more about the organizations active in Geneva to tackle the plastic crisis through our Plastics and the Environment special section on “Addressing the Plastic Crisis from Geneva”. As we head towards INC-5.2, we will highlight documents and resources related to Geneva’s contribution to the meeting as well as activities organized around INC-5.2.

Press Conference Ministerial Conference on Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution | 2 September 2021

Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions | BRS Conventions

Center for International Environmental Law | CIEL

Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs | TESS

Global Cities Hub – Geneva

Health Diplomacy Alliance

International Institute for Sustainable Development

International Organization for Standardization | ISO

International Union for Conservation of Nature | IUCN

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | OHCHR

UN Trade and Development  | UNCTAD

World Economic Forum  | WEF

World Health Organization | WHO

World Wildlife Fund | WWF

Additional Resources

Break Free From Plastics

Positions

Other Resources

In the Media

About the International Negotiating Committee to Develop a Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution Process

For several years, plastic pollution has been a major issue raised at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) and other global fora.

In March 2022, a historical resolution was adopted at the 5th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly – End plastic pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument (UNEA 5/14), recognizing that “the high and rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution represent a serious environmental problem at a global scale, negatively impacting the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development”. It mandated the UN Environment Programme Executive Director to convene an International Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop and adopt a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics.

INC Frequently Asked Questions
More on International Cooperation on Plastic Pollution

Pre INC-5.2 Sessions

The first five meetings for the development of the international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution took place in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Plastic Pollution INC-5

The fifth session of the INC, took place from 25 November to 1 December 2024 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center in Busan, Republic of Korea. INC-5 was adjourned with an agreement that the ‘Chair’s Text’ shared on 1 December will serve as a basis for the resumed session at a later date in 2025.

Plastic Pollution INC-4

The fourth session of the INC took place from 23 to 30 April 2024 at the Shaw Center in Ottawa, Canada. The Committee agreed on intersessional work to be carried out in the lead-up to INC-5. Two ad-hoc intersessional open-ended expert groups were established. The Committee accepted the proposal of a compilation document of the five non-papers prepared by the Sub-Groups at INC-4, to be the starting point for negotiations at INC-5. Additionally, 28 Member States launched the Bridge to Busan Declaration on Primary Plastic Polymers.

Plastic Pollution INC-3

The third session of the INC was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 13 to 19 November 2024 and saw H.E. Amb. Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Kingdom elected as the next Chair of the INC process and delegates mandating the Secretariat to compile a “revised zero-draft text” (UNEP/PP/INC.4/3) as the basis of talks at INC-4.

Plastic Pollution INC-2

The second meeting of the INC took place in Paris, France from 29 May to 2 June 2023, resulting in the mandate to the Chair to prepare a zero draft of the treaty ahead of INC-3.

Plastic Pollution INC-1

Member States then met in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 28 November to 2 December 2022 for the first meeting of the INC to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.

The meeting was preceded by a meeting of the the ad hoc open-ended working group (OEWG) in May 2022, in Dakar, Senegal. The meeting resulted in a proposed draft rules of procedure for the work of the INC.

Preparatory Events

Ahead of INC-5.2, actors from Geneva and beyond are mobilized through the organization of events and webinars to gather expertise and share the most advanced scientific knowledge.

Key Events and Activities in the Run-up to INC-5.2

Various key events and activities that generated momentum towards INC-5.2 took place in Geneva in the context of related negotiations and events, including:

World Environment Day Celebration 2025 | Multilateral Geneva Collectively Acting to Beat Plastic Pollution

5 June 2025

The World Environment Day annual celebration, focusing on the theme « Putting an End to Global Plastic Pollution », took place from 09:00 to 12:00 CEST at the International Environment House II around key moments including a breakfast offered by the host country, the GENeva World Environment Day Forum and the World Environment Day Dialogue.

Executive Briefing on Plastic Pollution INC-5.2

27 May 2025

The Executive Briefing featured presentations from the host country, Switzerland, the INC Chair and INC Executive Secretary, providing updates on preparations for the upcoming INC-5.2 as well as other activities taking place in parallel.

78th World Health Assembly (WHA78)

19 – 27 May 2025

WHA78 made links between plastic pollution and public health concerns.

2025 Meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (2025 BRS COPs)

28 April – 9 May 2025

A Ministerial Breakfast on Plastic INC was hosted by UNEP Executive Director on 1 May 2025, at Geneva Room, Varembé Centre.

Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues

Through the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues, the Geneva Environment Network and its partners support actors in the Geneva community and beyond, that are engaged in the INC process and other processes tackling plastic pollution. Ahead of INC-5.2, the co-conveners of the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues organized events relevant to the upcoming negotiations.

Collaborative Action to Advance Impact on the Global Plastics Agenda

29 July 2025

Addressing the Plastics Crisis from Geneva: Meeting on Activities in the Margins of Plastics Treaty INC-5.2

17 July 2025

The Right to Break Free from the Carbon Lock-in of Plastics | Geneva Rights and Climate Talks & Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues

4 July 2025

World Environment Day Celebration 2025 | Multilateral Geneva Collectively Acting to Beat Plastic Pollution

5 June 2025

Health on the Negotiating Table: Stakeholder Reflections on the Plastics Treaty Draft

15 May 2025

The Case for Observer’s Participation in the INC on Plastic Pollution and Other MEAs

27 March 2025

Plastics Treaty | State of Play and Priorities for an Ambitious Outcome

27 February 2025

Other Sessions Ahead of INC-5.2

A compilation of resources and activities – including conferences, receptions, artistic and cultural demonstrations – taking place in the margins of INC-5.2 can be accessed here.

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