It's Monday, April 29, 2024, and the INC4, the fourth round of negotiations for the plastics treaty, is in the final hours. Negotiators of countries from around the world are sitting in conference rooms in Ottawa, Canada, debating how to end plastic pollution. Around them, the presence of the fossil and chemical industries has grown significantly. Compared to the last meeting in Nairobi 37 percent more lobbyists are attending. The effort to quantify this lobby presence was led by CIEL, the Center for International Environmental Law. In a press conference that Plastisphere is sharing with this episode, the NGO brought together speakers from Greenpeace, the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, and the Indigenous Peoples Caucus. It’s a very impressive hour. For context, one of the First Nations in Canada just had to declare a state of emergency: A plastics plant in their vicinity had released chemicals into their environment. This is just one of the incidents that points to the burden frontline communities living close to production and disposal facilities are carrying around the world. So environmental justice is a huge issue when it comes to plastic pollution.

Hear more from the panel:

- Delphine Levi Alvares, Global Petrochemical Campaign Coordinator at CIEL

- Laura Salgado, Head of Campaign and Partnership at GGTC

- Graham Forbes, Head of Delegation, Greenpeace International

- Yuyun Ismawati, Convenor of the Indonesian Zero Waste Alliance (AZWI)

- Suzanne Smoke, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper from the Indigenous Peoples Caucus

- Bethanie Carney-Almroth, professor in ecotoxicology at Gothenburg University and Member of the Scientists’ Coalition For An Effective Plastic Treaty

CIEL's analysis of lobby attendance at INC4 was carried out in collaboration with Greenpeace, the Break Free From Plastic movement, the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), and the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC).

Here's the link: https://www.ciel.org/news/fossil-fuel-and-chemical-industry-influence-inc4/