INC-4: Negotiations on a Global Plastics treaty Started in Ottawa, Canada

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 25-04-2024

Summit and Conference 4 min read

The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) began in Ottawa, Canada.

The committee is working towards developing an international legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
The goal is to finalize the text of the instrument at the next session, INC-5, in November. During INC-4, members will also plan intersessional work to further develop the text.
This meeting is in response to a resolution adopted by the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), which requested the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director to convene an INC to address plastic pollution.
INC-4 is the second-to-last stage of negotiations, following three prior rounds: INC-1 in Punta del Este in November 2022, INC-2 in Paris in June 2023, and INC-3 in Nairobi in November 2023.
INC-5 will take place in Busan, the Republic of Korea, from November 25 to December 2, 2024, and is intended to conclude the INC process. After INC-5, a Diplomatic Conference will be held where Heads of State will sign the agreement.
In February 2024, Canada hosted a Ministerial meeting with the other host countries of the INC process (France, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, and Uruguay) at the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly.

Single-use plastic products

Single-use plastic products, which have low utility and high potential to cause littering, must be eliminated and replaced with reusable products that follow the principles of a circular economy.
In March 2019, the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) passed a resolution on "Addressing Single-use Plastic Products Pollution", which urges member states to take appropriate actions to promote the identification and development of environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use plastic products, while taking into account the entire life cycle implications of such alternatives.

India has introduced new regulations on 12th August 2021 to get rid of certain single-use plastic items that are not very useful, but cause a lot of littering.
The aim is to phase out these items by 1st July 2022. The items that will be eliminated include plastic bags, sticks for balloons, candy and ice-cream sticks, polystyrene, plastic plates, glasses, cutlery (like plastic forks, spoons, knives, and trays), and plastic stirrers.
In 2016, India made it mandatory for producers, importers, and brand owners to take responsibility for the plastic packaging waste that they create.