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Article 15 of the plastics treaty emphasizes the importance of reporting requirements to ensure transparency and accountability.
While many countries support the idea, they differ on the level of detail and binding nature of these obligations.
The Conference of the Parties will decide the format and timeline for reports, with some nations advocating for mandatory reporting and others suggesting flexibility for developing countries.
Article 15 outlines how Parties to the plastics treaty will report their efforts to implement the agreement. These reporting requirements are central to enabling transparency, fostering accountability, and informing future evaluations of the treaty’s overall effectiveness. The current draft proposes that countries submit periodic reports, with the Conference of the Parties (COP) responsible for determining the format, timeline, and content of such reports.
While many countries supported the general intent of the article, they diverged on how binding and detailed the obligations should be. Countries like Malawi and Ghana, representing the African Group, supported the Chair’s text and advocated for enhanced reporting structures, including specific, measurable indicators. They emphasized the importance of aligning national reports with other substantive articles of the treaty. Similarly, countries such as Samoa (on behalf of SIDS) and the Philippines favoured mandatory reporting, while calling for flexibility and capacity-building support for low-resource nations.
The United States expressed support for reporting requirements tied explicitly to treaty obligations and highlighted the need for early adoption of reporting modalities by the COP. China and Türkiye also favoured universal reporting, though with varying degrees of flexibility for developing countries.
However, some countries were more cautious. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia proposed reducing reporting obligations for developing nations, citing administrative and capacity burdens. Kazakhstan took a more critical view, suggesting that all reporting provisions should be voluntary for developing countries.
Despite these differences, there is general recognition that reporting will be vital to track the treaty’s implementation.
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