Initial Reactions to Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s Third Non-Paper

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides initial reactions to the third 'non-paper' released on October 29, 2024, by the Chair of the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) tasked with developing a global plastics treaty. While CIEL views the non-paper as an adequate structure for negotiations at the upcoming INC-5 meeting in Busan, Republic of Korea, it argues that the current text relies too heavily on voluntary language and lacks essential provisions on production limits, chemicals of concern, and finance, which would result in an ineffective treaty.

• The non-paper's reliance on non-specific and voluntary language, such as "encourage," "cooperate," and "promote," is seen as lowering the starting point for negotiations and failing to meet the mandate of United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolution 5/14.
• CIEL recommends that the treaty include legally binding measures to manage plastic production levels, including a freeze on the buildout of new capacity for selected polymers from a specific date and the removal of subsidies for polymer production, citing evidence from the Ministerial conference at CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia.
• The briefing argues that chemicals of concern should be regulated through a dedicated provision with global, legally binding measures and phase-outs, rather than restricting regulation to their use in products, which CIEL claims shifts the burden to importing and manufacturing countries.
• CIEL opposes the proposal that the Conference of the Parties (COP) adopt its rules of procedure by consensus at COP1, warning this could lead to paralysis. It suggests adopting a qualified majority vote system similar to the BBNJ negotiation for when consensus cannot be reached.
• The document calls for the establishment of a new dedicated financial mechanism that does not rely solely on concessional funding and incorporates mandatory contributions from the private sector based on the polluter pays principle.
• CIEL suggests that national plans should be mandatory rather than optional, with specified deadlines for submission to the COP and mandatory participation of rightsholders in their development and review.

APA

Azoulay, D., Carlini, G., del Castillo, A., de Anzizu, H., Gonzalez, D. D., Radvany, R., & Shah, D. (2024). Initial Reactions to Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s Third Non-Paper. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Initial-Reactions-to-Chair-of-the-Intergovernmental-Negotiating-Committees-Third-Non-Paper.pdf

Chicago

Azoulay, David, Giulia Carlini, Andres del Castillo, Helionor de Anzizu, Daniela Duran Gonzalez, Rachel Radvany, and Dharmesh Shah. Initial Reactions to Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s Third Non-Paper. Center for International Environmental Law, 2024. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Initial-Reactions-to-Chair-of-the-Intergovernmental-Negotiating-Committees-Third-Non-Paper.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Azoulay |first1=David |last2=Carlini |first2=Giulia |last3=del Castillo |first3=Andres |last4=de Anzizu |first4=Helionor |last5=Gonzalez |first5=Daniela Duran |last6=Radvany |first6=Rachel |last7=Shah |first7=Dharmesh |title=Initial Reactions to Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s Third Non-Paper |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=November 2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Initial-Reactions-to-Chair-of-the-Intergovernmental-Negotiating-Committees-Third-Non-Paper.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{azoulay2024initial, author = {Azoulay, David and Carlini, Giulia and del Castillo, Andres and de Anzizu, Helionor and Gonzalez, Daniela Duran and Radvany, Rachel and Shah, Dharmesh}, title = {{Initial Reactions to Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s Third Non-Paper}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Initial-Reactions-to-Chair-of-the-Intergovernmental-Negotiating-Committees-Third-Non-Paper.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }