BCRC China Participated in the Second Session of the INC on the International Instrument for Plastic Pollution -News-BCRC China

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BCRC China Participated in the Second Session of the INC on the International Instrument for Plastic Pollution

Release time：2023-07-11

The author：BCRC China

The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), aimed at developing a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, including plastic pollution in the marine environment, took place from May 29^th to June 2^nd at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France. This meeting was convened in response to Resolution 5/14 titled "Ending Plastic Pollution: Developing a Legally Binding International Instrument," adopted at the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly. More than 1,600 delegates from 169 countries, regional economic integration organizations such as the European Union, and over 300 observer organizations attended the conference. Zhao Nana, Assistant Director, Tan Quanyin, Director of the General Office, and Wei Fan, Technical Assistant of BCRC China, participated in the meeting as members of the Chinese delegation.

The main focus of this conference was a detailed discussion on the election of members of the Bureau, which was left unresolved during the INC-1 meeting, and the drafting of the international instrument.The INC first conducted a secret ballot vote to elect Vice-Chairs from the Eastern European Group and the Western European and Other States Group, thereby determining the complete composition of the Bureau. Regarding the issue of the temporary application of the draft rules of procedure (Articles 37 and 38), after the plenary, open-ended consultations, and informal consultations, a consensus was ultimately reached. An interpretative statement reflecting different opinions was included in the report of the meeting. Subsequently, two contact groups were established to discuss the drafting of the international instrument based on the potential elements contained in the document (UNEP/PP/INC.2/4) prepared by the Secretariat in accordance with the views of the member states. The contact groups aimed to identify areas of consensus and narrow down the scope of potential draft elements.