The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has raised concerns over the third iteration of a “non-paper” set to shape the world’s first comprehensive treaty to end plastic pollution. It has been released as the basis for discussions at the Fifth Session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan, South Korea. However, WWF’s policy brief highlights crucial gaps that could undermine the effectiveness of the final treaty.WWF acknowledges that this third iteration of the informal document is clearer and cleaner than the previous draft produced at INC-4. However, the NGO emphasizes that it still lacks explicit text to ban and phase out the most harmful plastic products and chemicals of concern, even though the majority of states already support these measures.
