On March 2, 2022, countries from around the world agreed to establish a global treaty to end plastic pollution. After the first meetings in Senegal and Uruguay, the discussions around the treaty are in full swing. Next, the country’s representatives are heading to Paris, France, in May 2023. They’ll meet for the second session of the INC, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, which is the forum where the treaty is debated. After that, three more of these INC meetings are scheduled. If all goes well, the diplomats could agree on the plastics treaty at the final conference in the summer of 2025.

So that’s the rough timeline – pretty ambitious, compared to how slow politics often move. But speed isn’t everything. How will the delegates make sure to actually get a treaty that tackles plastic pollution effectively, and in a fair way? Who gets a seat at the negotiating table, and who doesn’t? And what does the treaty need to contain and cover? In the past months, Anja asked scientists and experts to send her their thoughts and demands. In this episode, you’ll get to hear messages from Richard Thompson, Bethany Carney Almroth, Sonia Dias, Tridibesh Dey, Martin Wagner, Trisia Farrelly, Rebecca Altman and Lesley Henderson.Plastisphere is a research and interview podcast by Anja Krieger, published in the spirit of the gift economy. Please rate and review the podcast and support the production costs via PayPal: https://plastisphere.earth/support/Transcript with links to music and sources: https://anjakrieger.com/plastisphere/2023/05/12/ep13-plastictreaty/Subscribe: www.plastisphere.earthTheme song: Dorian RoyMusic: Blue Dot Sessions www.sessions.blue/UNEP video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28mNomsFsFYUNEP video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_GSIL0lLDsThanks for kind permission, additional audio and images to Miranda Grant, Ahmed Yusuf and the UNEP press team.Cover art: Maren von StockhausenThanks to: Baldeep KaurFollow regular updates on Mastodon: @[email protected] occasional posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @PlastispherePod