INC-5.2: No Treaty, but strong references to LRGs

INC-5.2 opens!

On 5 August 2025 the resumed session of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) opened at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. It is described by many as the last good chance to conclude negotiations on a global plastic pollution treaty.

Large national delegations attended, joined by more than 2.000 registered observers (including the founding members of the Coalition of Local and Subnational Governments to End Plastic Pollution). Several mayors and representatives of regional governments such as Quebec and Flanders, who are participating as part of the Canadian and Belgian national delegations respectively, attended as well.

The goal: to agree on a final treaty text by 15 August. The official INC website is publishing the positions, visions, and statements of States and a wide range of observers throughout the negotiations.

INC-5.2 is adjourned!

The INC-5.2 negotiations concluded in Geneva on the morning of 15 August. The final stages drew significant media attention — and some confusion. Here are the essentials:

• The session is not over — it has been adjourned to a further date. In UN terms, this means the current session remains open and will resume with the same agenda and documents. Think of it as hitting “pause”, not “stop”. See the official press release.

• A new Chair’s text (15 August 2025) will be the basis for future negotiations. For the first time in a binding treaty process it includes explicit references to subnational and local governments (Articles 7.2(a) and 17). It is the result of intense and sustained advocacy, yet still provisional as the text will be renegotiated once the session resumes.

While the treaty is not yet final, Local and Regional Governments are now firmly on the map. The GCH remains confident it will be adopted and will continue working to ensure LRGs are fully recognised in the final text.

The GCH & the LSNG Coalition engage during Stakeholders Day

Speaking during Stakeholders Day on 4 August, we delivered a statement on the position of the Local and Subnational Governments’ Coalition, emphasizing two key points:

1. Local and subnational governments are central actors at every stage of the plastics life cycle, managing plastic waste and pollution in every part of the world.
2. They are valuable partners to States, — and often leaders in their jurisdictions — in innovation, science-based approaches, and practical solutions to combat plastic pollution.

The Coalition urged national governments and the Secretariat to:

• Include Subnational and Local governments in the final text of the treaty  to ensure formal recognition of their role once adopted.
• Involve them in decision-making (and funding, and capacity building and national plans’ related activities) so they can work directly with the future Secretariat of the treaty to ensure effective implementation.

Kamelia Kemileva, Co-Director of the Global Cities Hub, spoke on behalf of the LSNG Coalition. She stressed that “Recognizing and empowering local and regional governments is essential for this treaty to succeed”. She also reminded negotiating parties that Local and Subnational Governments must be partners of any national implementation plan when the treaty is adopted.

Documents

• Read the full statement.
• Read the statement pronounced at the opening.
• Read the proposed language.
• Read the Chair’s Text (as of 15 August 2025).

Illustration: The Thinker’s Burden on Place des Nations by Benjamin Von Wong during the Plastics Treaty negotiations

Photo: Florian Fussstetter / UNEP