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Health and plastics: avenues for strengthening the plastics treaty
Summary
Countries are still hammering out a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution, and this paper lays out four key ways to make that agreement stronger for protecting human and environmental health. Plastics affect our health at every stage—from the chemicals used to make them, to the microplastics we breathe and eat, to the pollution left behind when they're thrown away—so a weak treaty could mean missed opportunities to reduce these risks. The authors argue that getting the treaty right matters because it could shape how much plastic-related chemical and microplastic exposure people face worldwide for decades to come.
On March 2, 2022, the UN Environment Assembly launched a process to negotiate a legally binding global plastics treaty by the end of 2024.1 Despite several rounds of negotiations, the treaty process is still under way. In February 2026, Chilean Ambassador Julio Cordano was elected as the new chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution and was tasked with guiding negotiations on the global plastics treaty. Ahead of upcoming meetings, and as parties consider the best ways forward, we present four promising avenues for strengthening the capacity of a plastics treaty to protect planetary health (panel).