- The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) is taking place in Ottawa, Canada.
- The objective is to finalise a global agreement on plastic pollution by November of this year.
What is the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC)?
- INC is a group tasked with developing a legally enforceable international instrument to eradicate plastic pollution by 2025 in accordance with United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolution 5/14.
- It commenced operations in November 2022 at Punta del Este, Uruguay (INC-1).
- The second summit (INC-2) was held in Paris, France, from May to June 2023.
- The INC-3 convened in Nairobi in December 2023.
- INC plans to finish its work by the end of 2024.
INC-4 Key Points:
- Previous sessions (INC-1, INC-2, and INC-3) prepared the groundwork for this one.
- They are working on reducing excessive plastic consumption while still using it for critical purposes such as renewable energy.
Future Prospects:
- INC-5 will take place in Busan, South Korea, and is intended to finalise everything.
- Following that, leaders from other nations will sign the pact.
Source: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-4