ASH joins the Stop Tobacco Pollution Alliance in attending the second session of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Conference (INC-5.2) of the United Nations Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Geneva, Switzerland from August 5 – 14, 2025. ASH’s Executive Director Laurent Huber will share updates and progress here for our community to stay engaged and informed.
August 9, 2025 – Countries remain divided as the 5th day of negotiations continue late into the night.
While a still significant number of countries continues to call for a meaningful treaty to end plastic pollution, the powerful oil and plastic producing states continue to block any language that would make the plastic treaty efficient in achieving the aims of UNEA Resolution 5/14 entitled “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument” adopted by the countries of the world in 2022.
While it seems like a tall order at this time, it is imperative that governments negotiating this treaty align with the spirit of a proposal from Ecuador on behalf of Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru and Uruguay that aims to strengthen the link with human rights, including the need for business to address their impacts on human rights.
It is clear that business and financial interests have been a major hurdle to these negotiations, whether in capitals or at INC5-2 itself, which has been swamped by industry lobbyists.
UN Members States negotiating this treaty – the world is watching; you will be judged harshly if you allow plastics to continue to harm human health and the environment for generations to come. You have less than a week left before INC5-2 negotiations conclude; do what needs to be done to protect our collective right to a healthy environment and the highest attainable standard of health.
ASH’s Key Points for INC-5.2 are available to review in: English
