HAC Member States Ministerial
Joint Statement for INC-4
In advance of the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) todevelop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in themarine environment, we the 65 Ministers of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic
Pollution:
Reaffirm our shared commitment and encourage other countries to join the High Ambition
Coalition and commit to its goal to end plastic pollution by 2040.
Recall the agreement of UNEA Resolution 5/14 and underline that achieving the goal ofending plastic pollution requires an ambitious and effective, international legally binding
instrument that is comprehensive in scope, addresses the full life cycle of plastics including
primary plastic polymers, products made of or containing plastics as well as associatedchemicals, and plastic pollution in all its dimensions.
Stress that without this comprehensive and holistic approach, which is vital to achieving a fulltransition towards a safe circular economy for plastics, we will fail to end plastic pollution andnot achieve our collective goal of protecting the environment and human health from thenegative impacts of plastic pollution.
Reiterate that global plastic consumption and production have reached unsustainable levels
and continue to grow while plastic pollution keeps increasing, which underscores the need tosignificantly enhance our collective and combined efforts, and recognise that there is an
ongoing need to identify, prioritize and effectively address the key sources and drivers ofplastic pollution.
Call for binding provisions to restrain and reduce the production and consumption of primary
plastic polymers to sustainable levels, emphasise the need to reach net zero greenhousegas emissions in the plastics system and align treaty provisions with the 1.5°C target of theParis Agreement as well as with the relevant targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework, with the Global Framework on Chemicals, and with the goals of theBasel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions.

Underline the scientific evidence of negative impacts on the environment and on humanhealth related to plastic pollution,1 the need for a precautionary approach, the UN General
Assembly Resolution 76/300 on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment,2 and the need to protect human rights of persons in vulnerable situationsacross the plastics life cycle, including children, women, Indigenous Peoples, local
communities, coastal communities, waste-pickers and other workers in informal orcooperative settings.
Acknowledge that the socio-economic and environmental costs of inaction are significantly
higher than those for appropriate control measures and will be disproportionally borne by
developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing
States, and recognise the multiple challenges these countries face, especially regarding theremediation of existing plastic pollution.
Affirm the importance of a fair, equitable and inclusive transition that supports sustainable
development, with special consideration for people and groups in vulnerable situations.3
Recognise the important role the science, knowledge and traditional practices of Indigenous
Peoples and of local communities play in contributing to the sustainable management andprotection of the environment from plastic pollution.
Stress that ending plastic pollution will require common legally binding global rules andcontrol measures, based on best available science, to restrain and reduce consumption andproduction of primary plastic polymers to sustainable levels; eliminate and restrict
unnecessary, avoidable, and problematic plastic products as well as plastic polymers andchemicals of environmental or health concern; to establish global criteria or requirements for
products, including on durability, reuse, repair and recycling; to ensure a safe circular
economy for plastics that protects the environment and human health; to achieve theenvironmentally sound management of plastic waste; eliminate the release of plastics,
including microplastics, to air, water and land; and remediate and, where feasible, eliminate
plastic pollution, using the best available techniques and environmental practices to avoid
exacerbating environmental harm.
Call for mechanisms in the treaty for strengthening commitments and controls over time, as
well as for transparent reporting on its implementation at the national and global level.
Underscore that common global rules and economic tools are vital to drive the private sector
to scale and speed up reliable investments in sustainability and generate sustainableeconomic opportunities for businesses in all regions through greater regulatory alignment
and transparency.
Emphasise the principle that polluters must be held responsible for their activities andproducts, recognizing that extended producer responsibility schemes, fit to national
circumstances, are part of the solution, and further emphasise the significant potential for
improving product design and environmentally sound waste management.
Highlight the need for reliable information throughout the plastics value chain and binding
measures and provisions on transparency, labelling, monitoring and reporting across the fulllife cycle of plastics, including on the type and quantities of polymers, the composition of
1 Especially for women, infants and young children; workers and residents of frontline communities exposed to

toxic chemicals embedded in plastics. Landrigan, Philip J. et al.: The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics
and Human Health. Annals of Global Public Health. 2023 Mar 21;89(1):23. doi: 10.5334/aogh.4056.
2Certain HAC Member Countries adopted, and continue to support, Resolution 76/300 from 28 July 2022 inaccordance with Explanations of Vote.
3 Taking into consideration the “Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies
and societies for all” by the International Labour Organization, and the International Labour Conference
Resolution ILC.111/Resolution V.

plastic materials and products, including chemicals, as well as labelling across plastics value
chains to provide necessary product information to ensure accountability and inform actions,while protecting confidential business information not related to the health and safety ofhumans and the environment.
Alongside these minimum requirements, highlight the need to mobilize the necessary
resources from all sources, public and private, domestic and international, stand ready to
discuss the most appropriate mechanisms for ensuring timely, accessible, recurrent,
predictable and adequate financing for implementation, and call for ambitious and effectivemeans of implementation, including financing to support implementation in recipient
countries, in particular Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States,
recognising in principle that all countries should provide domestic resources for their nationalactivities.
Stress the need to align financial flows and policies to deliver action on the ground, and toend harmful incentives such as subsidies that work against the goal to end plastic pollution.
In this spirit and recognising the critical point in negotiations, we invite the INC Chair tofacilitate enhanced ministerial engagement and dialogue, and encourage all INC members tointensify their efforts to establish areas of shared understanding and convergence in order tomake substantive progress on the revised draft text, and decide upon intersessional workneeded to agree on an ambitious treaty by the end of 2024 at INC-5.
We continue to demonstrate our determination to ensure a comprehensive and holistic
approach able to end plastic pollution by 2040, including by committing to take immediate
actions at all levels and across the full life cycle of plastics, consistent with ambitious future
treaty provisions, while reinvigorating our efforts across all relevant international processesand organisations.

Members of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution supporting the Joint
Ministerial Statement for INC-4
Antigua & Barbuda

CanadaFinland

Armenia

Chile

FranceAustralia

Colombia

Gabon

Austria

Cook Island

Georgia

Azerbaijan

Costa Rica

GermanyBenin

Denmark

Ghana

Belgium

Dominican RepublicGreenland

Bulgaria

EcuadorGuineaBurkina Faso

Estonia

Iceland

Cabo Verde

European Union

IrelandIsraelMontenegro

SenegalJapan

Netherlands

Seychelles

JordanNew Zealand

Slovenia

Luxembourg

Nigeria

Solomon Islands

Malawi

NorwaySpain

Maldives

Palau

SwedenMali

PanamaSwitzerland

Mauritius

Peru

Togo

MexicoPortugal

UkraineMicronesia, Federated
States ofRepublic of Korea
Romania

United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern
Ireland

RwandaUruguay

Moldova
Monaco