23/07/2025 (Agence Europe) – The main challenge for the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) in Geneva from 5 to 14 August, to adopt a global treaty on plastic pollution, will be to cover the entire life cycle of plastics, from the extraction of raw materials and production to their transformation into products, end-of-life management and recycling, explained the Jacques Delors Institute on Friday 18 July. Nearly one hundred countries signed up to this in the ‘Nice Wake Up Call’ on Tuesday 10 June (see EUROPE 13657/5). The EU Member States then reaffirmed their shared ambition on Friday 11 July (see EUROPE 13679/4). Because a treaty without binding obligations would be “completely ineffective”, the Institute is calling on the EU to strengthen its alliances, rally “other major players” and counter the obstruction of a group of countries led by Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran. (FS)