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Over 95 countries have endorsed the "Nice Wake-up Call for an Ambitious Plastics Treaty" at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), currently underway in Nice, France, from June 9-13, 2025.
India is not among the signatories despite Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, issuing a statement that the country is advocating a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty at UNOC3.
This "Wake-up Call" identifies five crucial elements necessary for an effective Global Plastics Treaty. The initiative follows the failure of countries to reach an agreement on a legally binding plastics treaty in December 2024. The next round of United Nations negotiations is scheduled for August 5-14 in Geneva, Switzerland.
"We need comprehensive measures covering the full lifecycle of plastics. We must reduce the production and consumption of plastics," stated Agnes Pannier-Runacher, French Minister for Ecological Transition, during a press briefing on day two of UNOC3. “Better waste management and recycling will not help solve the problem. This is a lie” she said.
Christina Dixon, Ocean Campaign Lead at the Environmental Investigation Agency, told Down To Earth (DTE), "The declaration unites a coalition of ambitious countries from all regions around a common vision for ambition. It draws a line in the sand and will compel blocking countries to reconsider red lines."
Dixon acknowledged that some countries have no interest in a treaty. However, she expressed hope that "the Nice Wake-up Call fortifies political will and hopefully signals that an ambitious treaty will be achieved because the planet and oceans need it."
The five elements outlined by Pannier-Runacher include the need for a global target to reduce primary production of plastic polymers across the world; phasing out the most problematic plastic products and chemicals of concern associated; improving design of plastic products; effective means of implementation and finance that is commensurate with the ambition and guided by the polluter pays principle; an effective treaty that can evolve over time.
The statement “shows solidarity and a strong collective position around key aspects of the treaty which will likely serve to isolate those who have low ambition and encourage them to come to the negotiation table with genuine offers in pursuit of a deal,” Dixon added.
The Nice Wake-Up Call has 96 signatories and remains open for others to join, according to Andres del Castillo, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law.
Del Castillo highlighted that the Nice Wake-Up Call statement provides more granular details than the joint statement of the High Ambition Coalition from the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) held in Busan in December 2024. The INC-5 Ministerial joint statement, signed by 69 countries, reaffirmed their common ambition of ending plastic pollution by 2040.
It also welcomed calls for global criteria and measures, including phasing out or restricting certain problematic and avoidable plastic products, polymers, and chemicals of concern in plastics and plastic products. It further advocated for global product design criteria and requirements to protect human health and the environment, increase safe circularity and transparency and minimise emissions and releases of plastics, including microplastics.
Another significant feature of the Nice Wake-Up Call, del Castillo explained, is the joint call from both developed and developing countries for financial mechanisms, a point that was less clear in earlier discussions.
At the press briefing, Alicia Barcena, Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, stressed the need to define a science-based global criteria to identify problematic plastics products and those containing hazardous chemical. She also added that a scientific subsidiary body needs to be created to evaluate proposals based on risks and socioeconomic impacts.
Over 235 civil society organisations and rights holders stated that the Nice declaration should be viewed as a "floor, not a ceiling", emphasising that words must be followed by actions if governments are serious about protecting the rights and health of all.
Dixon cautioned that challenges will persist at the upcoming negotiations. "Countries will need to overcome the blocking countries who are seeking to undermine ambition and hold the talks hostage," she stated.
At the INC-5 plenary meeting in Busan, India stated its inability to support measures to regulate the production of primary plastic polymers, as it has larger implications in respect of the right to development of Member States.
Dixon further added that a small but vocal minority have the power to hold all countries back with their tactics. “We hope to see this groundswell of ambition turn into constructive work in the negotiations, where counties use all tools available to unlock the tricky topics and find a path forwards that can meet the scale of the crisis at hand,” she added.
Del Castillo noted that member States also express the need to use all the decision-making tools at their disposal, including voting. “There is a possibility for voting according to the text of rules of procedure. We saw countries adopting the pandemic treaty where a vote was used in a committee before the adoption in May 2025, for instance. The United Nations General Assembly views 97 countries as a majority,” the expert explained.
