UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : UNEP - Press Conference: INC-5.2 on plastic pollution

All right.

Good afternoon, colleagues and thank you for joining us for this very short briefing that follows a stop taking plenary on day five of Inc 5.2.

So briefing you today and taking a couple of questions.

We have missing Anderson who is the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, UNEP and we have the Chair of the Inc Ambassador, Luis Vallas Valdivieso.

I'll start with brief, brief remarks from you, Madam Executive Director.

Thank you very much and good afternoon to members of the press.

Let me just say that what we heard in the plenary is that countries are very keen to continue the work.

And yes, the hoped we, we had all hoped, of course, and this is what you heard from Member states, that discussions would be further along.

The contact groups have assembled the text as they were asked to do, and the Chair has issued that.

Let that not be too, let that not be too influential here because this is sort of taking a snapshot at a moment in time and whilst lots of additional texts is added, that's part of the journey in any negotiation process.

So I'd like to say that despite the fog of negotiations, I'm really encouraged by the way in which these contact groups have been working and countries have been working together, especially in the informals and the informal informals.

And obviously it is very critical that informal conversations continue this afternoon.

I think we can say that there was consensus in the plenary that we need to speed up this pace.

And I think the chair has put forward some clear suggestions, he including that he supports his Co chairs, that they continue the word in their work in the contact groups and also about his intentions to continue convening bilaterals to assist in the, in this matter.

As we all work in the multilateral space, we know that trust and inclusivity and transparency is key.

And I'd like to add that actually this is really within our grasp.

And even though in the fog of today it might not look so for somebody who's been on this journey for 40 years plus, I can tell you that this is within grasp.

The window remains open to leave Geneva with this treaty.

We've had three years of hard work behind us and there is a pathway to success, but we need to see a cadence shift.

But during such complex times in which we're living, we can't take for granted where we're at right now.

And we've heard countries loud and clear before Geneva saying we are going to Geneva with the intent of coming out of Geneva with a treaty few critical days ahead for member states.

The ball is firmly in their court and negotiations are not easy, but they can deliver.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Miss Anderson.

Over to you, Mr.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

So nice to see you all.

Thank you for being here.

Well, I would like to add a a couple of things.

The first one is that we are seeing progress.

We have seen the contact groups working, negotiating and also going in the way to clean text.

We have sent two articles.

Well he was the two articles that we saw on the first day of negotiations.

That has been they have they have been sent to the legal drafting group.

If you ask me, I will have liked to see more articles at this stage to have sent to be sent to the legal drafting group.

But we start with those.

We see a group of articles with a different level of convergence, yes, but with a high level of convergence too, that hopefully soon we can also do the same and send to the legal drafting groups those articles.

And then we still have some articles with differences with lack of convergence that we need to work and find also the way to make it work and to have a clean text by the 14th of August in penalty.

This morning we stopped take of the work of those contact groups from the Co chairs and they they have done a wonderful job.

Also the Co chairs in the contact groups also working with informals on informals informals countries also self organised organising their themselves to to have meetings, which I have encouraged.

That's important that countries are meeting countries not only negotiating in the contact groups, but also working and meeting, discussing and negotiating in informal settings that that's happening.

The way forward, the way forward is quite important.

As I said, we have seen progress in the contact groups.

I completely agree with.

Actually I have heard from all the countries that I have met, all delegates I have met that we need to accelerate that we need a better rhythm in this and we need to also work in such a way that it will be clear that we we will deliver by the end of 5.2.

So we will keep working on the in the contact groups, we will keep working in the manner that also we need to empower and keep capacity that they have the Co chairs also to come with text proposals that will help us bridge positions, find common grounds and identify landing salts.

We need those work that work with the Co chairs and also keep working in those deforms.

From my side as chair, I have said that I will support, I did support and of course permanently the the work of the Co chairs, but also identifying those articles that still that they we see open issues there also to work in the formal setting from my side as chair with a different delegations also to make it work to find out common ground to find those landing zones that we want to bring into the contact groups.

And then later on to the plenary to agreed and to have a clean text by the end of the session.

I will stop there, but happy to receive also your questions.

[Other language spoken]

As you can imagine, schedules are packed.

[Other language spoken]

Please introduce yourself before you ask a question.

We have one over here.

[Other language spoken]

I'm Isabel Mason from Advance Force Press.

I I'm not sure I see the new dynamic in the negotiations.

Can you tell a little bit more about what you really are changing in the in in the process?

Thank you very much.

Well, we have seen that dynamic has been progressing also during the day's, what we saw the first day on Tuesday in the contact groups is different or what we saw last night for instance, where countries are meeting you know, in different informals and informals, informals also to work with their proposals with their suggestions of advancing in the contact groups.

So dynamic has been progressing also being more discussions in the in the contact groups.

And I am going to focus now in this today starting today and tomorrow, tomorrow is day without a schedule.

So we don't have formal meetings, but that doesn't mean that we're going to be working.

[Other language spoken]

We will have consultations with with the States and I'm going to focus those consultations in a specific articles that are still open issues.

So that's a a difference.

We have a work before, yes, with consultations, general ones also supporting the Co chairs, but now in coordination, permanent coordination that we do have with the Co chairs, daily meetings, but more this is more than one meeting a day with them.

Also identifying those issues, not only the articles that we have identified some time ago, but identifying the issues, the elements on those articles that could help us bridge positions, but also to identify elements that are putting the delegations apart to work with us.

So in that work with the Co chairs together coordinated with me as chair, we identify those situations, those issues and work with the specific delegations to advance in the process.

And I have mentioned also in plenary this morning, we are ready to have a plenary session actually at any time except tomorrow, that it will be also important to have such a meeting if it's needed with a specific purpose, for instance, to send more articles, clean texts to the legal drafting group.

[Other language spoken]

We have a question from a colleague online, Laura Ciero from the Swiss News Agency.

Over to you.

Yeah, thank you for the press conference.

Important members of the like minded group like Saudi Arabia and Iran this morning in the plenary clearly said that they would like now to see what should not be in the treaty being in a way withdrawn from the negotiations and and bottom line Article 6.

I think Saudi Arabia clearly mentioned Article 6.

So you say treaty is still within.

[Other language spoken]

But is an ambitious and efficient treaty still within reach?

[Other language spoken]

When I say it's within grasp, it's exactly because it is within reach.

A treaty that would be strong and it would have a strong participation basis.

I think there was a member State from one of the Pacific islands and I forget who, who said don't have the situation where you go first.

[Other language spoken]

No, you go first in the compromise conversation.

Now I'm not saying which would be the compromises, but it is critical when you're negotiating that countries and I'm talking here to all the members of this member state enabled negotiation that they begin to talk about what it looks like in terms of compromise.

And it is obviously critical that the treaty be effective, that it ends plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

But that I believe is actually absolutely within grasp.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

We have one.

Oh, we have Laura here in the room.

Please introduce yourself.

[Other language spoken]

Laura for French media context.

Ministers will start to arrive, I think, Tuesday.

[Other language spoken]

Needs to happened before they get.

[Other language spoken]

Where do we need to be for on Tuesday when ministers arrive?

For it to be effective and lead to a potential deal at the end.

[Other language spoken]

Ministers will arrive.

As you know, there was, there will not be a formal ministerial segment.

However, ministers will be participating in a number of informal discussions around this and I'm sure that they will also be meeting with their respective delegations.

I don't think that there's a set point at which the negotiations on the one side have to arrive at, at the time of the minister's arrival.

What I would say is reflecting what the chair just said, we need to see the the speed accelerate irrespective of who's arriving when because we are counting the days and because listening to all of the interventions today, that was a common theme irrespective of what group that particular speaker formed part of.

But having said that, the ministers and I, I'm sure you've been briefed on the number of ministers and vice ministers were set to come.

It's a significant number and we're very happy with such strong sign up and we believe that ministers presence and their dialogue amongst each other in part on what they've already done and in part on what they wish to do will certainly help shine a light on this important challenge, the challenge in plastic pollution.

[Other language spoken]

We have one more line.

I think it'll be the last one we take Satoko Adachi from Yomiri Shimbun.

Yes, thank you very much for doing this.

I have two questions to the Inc Chair.

When are you going to have the next plenary meeting?

And secondly, how are you going to tackle the issue of the scope and Article 6, given the divergent views among Member States?

Are you waiting until the contact group will produce some kind of new document or text on scope and Article 6?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for the questions.

About the first one, a plenarisation can be conveyed any date except tomorrow.

I don't think we will need a plenarisation for instance on Monday or not at least Monday until afternoon or evening.

But we had also the some proposal, some ideas today in plenary also about that, that we could benefit from that plenarisation maybe on Monday evening or Tuesday.

That could be a possibility also to stop take the work from the contact groups thinking that Thursday, August 14 is the last day of our negotiations and about the scope and article six were actually those ones are those issues that goes into this basket that is still you know with open issues with pending also to bridge positions that also I will be discussing in my consultations with delegations.

It doesn't mean that negotiations will stop about those articles or about those aspects in the in the contact growth negotiations will keep going on with the support also of the consultations that I I will have sorry that I will have with some members.

[Other language spoken]

Sorry, just one more over here, Robin, And I'm Robin Millard from AFP.

Which, which articles do you see as being the most challenging?

Let's put it that way at the moment.

And, and on those, I mean, how, how can you practically go about bridging those gaps?

You would just outline the articles and where the where the the countries are furthest apart.

[Other language spoken]

Because I tell you since yesterday afternoon, well, we know what all the articles, how they are now being dealt in the different contact groups, but also to identify in, in those three categories the the articles.

It is not easy.

It is not easy also to say, well, the first one is, is, is that's the easy one.

But to find identify those articles that are clean and to be sent to the legal draftking Rd is not that big issue.

The second category, those ones that has a high level of conversion.

So we see that those ones could be clean soon or it looks like that in the negotiations also where it has been a lot of progress yesterday, for instance, in the afternoon and also in the evening in the informals and informals informals settings.

But articles are linked to each other and some articles are more linked than others.

Everything is LinkedIn the in the text, of course, but so we need to consider that the moment we have our negotiations.

So for instance, the two one, the two aspects that we mentioned before and with the question before, for instance, could be, you know, discussed with delegations at the same time or is like that, you know, as I said, articles are linked on how to discuss.

That's why it's very important, very important for me to keep talking permanently with the Co chairs, identifying those articles or those issues within the articles, because parts of the articles could be a, you know, going in a good speed and and going well in the negotiation.

But there are some issues within those articles that we need to tackle.

So identifying those aspects with the Co chairs permanently with my contact with the Co chairs, it's important also to discuss in this informal settings that I will carry on as chair of the process.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

So we do need to stop it here now.

Thank you all for your time, our speakers, members of the media, our Eunice colleagues, and on a Saturday no less, we are available should you need us.

Thank you very much, everyone.

[Other language spoken]