Negotiation Timelines of International Legal Instruments: Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes historical negotiation timelines of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to provide pathways for the development of a future international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. It argues that the current ambition to complete the plastics treaty by the end of 2024 is tight and suggests that previous treaties, such as the Rotterdam, Minamata, and BBNJ agreements, demonstrate that negotiations can legally and practically extend beyond initial deadlines without requiring new mandates from governing bodies.

• The timeline for the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution is considered highly ambitious, with a goal to complete work by the end of 2024. The fifth and final scheduled Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) meeting is planned for Busan, Korea, from November 25 to December 1, 2024.
• Historical precedents show that MEA negotiations often exceed initial timelines, taking anywhere from just over a year to nearly five years to reach treaty adoption. The Rotterdam Convention, for instance, missed deadlines set in two UNEP Governing Council decisions and held eleven sessions over more than eight years.
• The Minamata Convention demonstrates that significant work can occur after a treaty is adopted by a Diplomatic Conference but before the first Conference of the Parties (COP). The Minamata INC met for a sixth time in 2014 and a seventh time in 2016 to prepare guidance documents and draft texts on reporting, financial rules, and mercury export/import procedures.
• The briefing concludes that the INC for the plastics treaty has several legal options to extend negotiations if necessary, such as suspending the fifth meeting or scheduling an INC-6. It asserts that a new decision by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) would not be required to continue meetings beyond 2024.
• The legal basis for extending the plastics treaty timeline is supported by the specific wording of UNEA resolution 5/14, which 'recommends' the ambition of completing work by 2024 rather than mandating it, and the INC's provisional Rules of Procedure, which allow the committee to set its own meeting dates and locations.

APA

Sky, M. B. (2024). Negotiation Timelines of International Legal Instruments: Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Treaty-Negotiation-Timelines.pdf

Chicago

Sky, Melissa Blue. Negotiation Timelines of International Legal Instruments: Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty. Center for International Environmental Law, 2024. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Treaty-Negotiation-Timelines.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sky |first1=Melissa Blue |title=Negotiation Timelines of International Legal Instruments: Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=July 2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Treaty-Negotiation-Timelines.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sky2024negotiation, author = {Sky, Melissa Blue}, title = {{Negotiation Timelines of International Legal Instruments: Key Considerations for the Future Plastics Treaty}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Treaty-Negotiation-Timelines.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }