Annotated Zero Draft of the Plastics Treaty

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides an annotated analysis of the Zero Draft of the international plastics treaty. CIEL argues for the use of legally binding language ('shall'), the inclusion of production capacity freezes, a grouping approach to chemicals to avoid regrettable substitutions, and the establishment of a global plastic pollution fee. The analysis emphasizes a full life cycle approach, the protection of human rights, and a just transition for workers across the entire plastic value chain.

• CIEL identifies several critical omissions in the Zero Draft that are necessary for the treaty's effectiveness, including the absence of human rights mentions, a lack of defined tasks for the governing body, and missing procedures for amending the treaty and its annexes.
• The document emphasizes the legal distinction between 'shall' and 'should', arguing that 'shall' must be used for substantive obligations to ensure they are legally binding rather than merely voluntary recommendations.
• Regarding primary plastic polymers, CIEL advocates for a production capacity freeze to prevent the expansion of infrastructure, warning that without such a provision, reduction targets will fail due to long-term production lock-in.
• CIEL recommends a 'grouping approach' for managing chemicals and polymers of concern to prevent 'regrettable substitutions', where one harmful chemical is replaced by a closely related substance that is equally or more harmful.
• The analysis argues that the treaty should adopt a permit system rather than a Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure for trade in listed chemicals and plastics, as permits provide stronger state control and verification.
• CIEL stresses the need for a 'start and strengthen' approach, which requires simplified procedures for amending annexes to allow the treaty to flexibly incorporate new scientific knowledge without needing to amend the core text.
• The document calls for the inclusion of monomers in the scope of obligations throughout the treaty, noting that the production of plastic precursors is a significant source of pollution and health impacts.
• CIEL suggests that the treaty should include a global plastic pollution fee paid by polymer producers to hold them accountable for pollution costs and to generate revenue for waste management and clean-up.
• The analysis highlights that a 'just transition' must extend beyond the waste management stage to include workers and communities affected by the upstream stages of the plastics life cycle.

APA

Azoulay, D., Carlini, G., De Anzizu, H., del Castillo, A., Durán, D., Alvarez, D. L., Shah, D., & Radvany, R. (2023). Annotated Zero Draft of the Plastics Treaty. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Annotated-Zero-Draft_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Azoulay, David, Giulia Carlini, Helionor De Anzizu, Andrés del Castillo, Daniela Durán, Delphine Levi Alvarez, Dharmesh Shah, and Rachel Radvany. Annotated Zero Draft of the Plastics Treaty. Center for International Environmental Law, 2023. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Annotated-Zero-Draft_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Azoulay |first1=David |last2=Carlini |first2=Giulia |last3=De Anzizu |first3=Helionor |last4=del Castillo |first4=Andrés |last5=Durán |first5=Daniela |last6=Alvarez |first6=Delphine Levi |last7=Shah |first7=Dharmesh |last8=Radvany |first8=Rachel |title=Annotated Zero Draft of the Plastics Treaty |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=November 2023 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Annotated-Zero-Draft_FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{azoulay2023annotated, author = {Azoulay, David and Carlini, Giulia and De Anzizu, Helionor and del Castillo, Andrés and Durán, Daniela and Alvarez, Delphine Levi and Shah, Dharmesh and Radvany, Rachel}, title = {{Annotated Zero Draft of the Plastics Treaty}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Annotated-Zero-Draft_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }