The third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-3), is scheduled to take place from 13 to 19 November 2023 at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

In INC-3 Briefing 4 of 10, the Key Messages are:

• The International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI)’s scope, as articulated by United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolution 5/14, includes the circular economy and elements of the plastic life-cycle as vital elements for addressing plastic pollution and production.
• The fundamental connections between the circular economy, plastic life-cycle and global efforts to address plastic pollution were affirmed by States and stakeholders throughout the INC-1 and INC-2 discussions.
• At the same time, a number of States and stakeholders expressly referenced the need to include just transition as part of the ILBI during INC-1 and by the end of INC-2 this became a significant area of focus.
• In the plastics context, the transition away from plastic production as well as plastic-intensive industries and the informal sector can be seen as essential yet also carries with it the potential to cause unemployment and poverty.
• Just transition could offer a bridge through which to address the immediate issues of job loss as well as underlying socio-economic barriers and achieve synergies with other treaty systems.
• This should be done by including just transition terms in the core measures of the ILBI, the governance system adopted for the ILBI, and the amendments, annexes or protocols adopted depending on the structural choice made for the ILBI.

A compilation of 10 Briefings for negotiators is available here. These are:

Briefing 1: Key Elements for Plastic Pollution Treaty 
Briefing 2: Glossary of Key Terms 
Briefing 3: Structure of Plastic Pollution Treaty (ILBI) 
Briefing 4: Just Transition and the International Legally Binding Instrument 
Briefing 5: Regime Convergence and the International Legally Binding Instrument 
Briefing 6: Circular Economy and Plastic Life-Cycle Issues 
Briefing 7: Legal Process of Treaty Negotiations 
Briefing 8: Connections between IUCN’s Plastic Pollution Elimination Timeline and the SDGs 
Briefing 9: Connections between IUCN’s Plastic Pollution Elimination Timeline and the GBF
Briefing 10: Free Trade Agreement Convergence and the Plastic Pollution Treaty