Sometimes, working in sustainability, you get hit with challenging times, and last week was a political doozy. It began with an anticlimactic return from Kenya, followed by the disappointing dilution of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), a surprising U-turn on pesticide control in the Green Deal, and ended with a ‘less-than-favourable’ result in the Dutch general elections. Despite these troubling developments, we don’t have the luxury of resting in the corner, licking our wounds. We must cling to the positive and get ready for the next round. On returning from INC-3, our CEO Willemijn Peeters explores the nuanced dynamics of the negotiations – the stormy nights but also the sun shining through the clouds.

On September 4, 2023, the United Nations unveiled the Zero Draft of the Global Plastics Treaty. This text is designed to guide and support the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee at their upcoming meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in November, the goal being to have a formal treaty in place by the end of 2024. The initial draft is just that, a draft. So far, it seems promising that vital elimination and reduction topics are now firmly on the agenda. However, the outline of interventions is not nearly specific enough to get us to the goal of ending plastic pollution.