Bangladesh rejects draft global plastics treaty, demands tougher measures against pollution
Bangladesh criticized the latest draft of the global plastics treaty as weak and insufficient. They stated it lacks supply-side measures and does not address the full life cycle of plastic, failing to meet the standards of the UN Environment Assembly Resolution 5/14 for a legally binding agreement.
The rejection was announced on August 14, 2025, during the second session of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC), Bangladesh, criticized the draft as “weak and inadequate” for not including supply-side measures and failing to address the full life cycle of plastics.
The MOEFCC, Bangladesh, said it does not address health impacts, harmful chemicals, or waste classification and lacks strong measures to reduce cross-border plastic pollution.
The draft lacked effective implementation mechanisms and relied on a complex, voluntary approach, ignoring the urgent global plastic crisis. Bangladesh argued that the agreement must tackle harmful chemicals in plastics, which are linked to health risks, greenhouse gas emissions, and the production of primary plastics, due to the overall harm plastics cause throughout its life cycle.
“The draft is not very effective in protecting human health or the environment from plastic pollution. The Bangladesh Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change stated that the agreement simplifies waste management but does not hold plastic producers accountable and lacks mandatory actions to eliminate harmful plastic products.
Bangladesh stated that it cannot support the draft without major changes and urged negotiators to enhance their commitments according to the UNEA mandate.
On the same day, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Advisor to the Bangladesh Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, urged a strong global partnership and focused resources to combat plastic pollution.
During an informal ministerial roundtable at INC-5.2 in Geneva, she highlighted Bangladesh’s vulnerability as a downstream country and urged for a global framework to tackle transboundary pollution.
She advocated for circular economy models, better waste management, sustainable product design, and fair treatment of waste workers. Emphasizing environmental and health aspects, she called for ambitious, collaborative steps to phase out harmful plastics through institutionalized global cooperation.
