Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Between August 5 and 15, 2025, Environmental Defence’s Senior Program Manager for Plastics, Karen Wirsig, will join country delegations, experts and activists from around the world for the continuation of what is likely the final negotiation session (INC-5.2) toward a global plastics treaty.

Environmental Defence has been at the forefront of the fight against plastic pollution for years and is a strong voice in Canada advocating for an effective global plastics treaty—one that builds on and reinforces strong domestic action to rein in the production, use and disposal of plastics.

Wirsig has attended previous negotiation sessions as an observer and was on hand in Busan, South Korea in December 2024 when a majority of countries—including Canada—signed a resolution in favour of a treaty with legally-binding measures to reduce plastic production and eliminate the most toxic plastic products and chemical additives worldwide. Because no deal had been reached at the end of that negotiating session, in large part due to efforts from a small number of petroleum-producing states to block progress, countries agreed to suspend the session and will now reconvene starting next week in Geneva.

Wirsig is available to comment on developments in the negotiations and whether the outcomes meet the urgent need to address the global plastic pollution crisis.

When: Tuesday, August 5 to Friday, August 15, 2025

Who: Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager, Plastics, Environmental Defence

Where: Geneva, Switzerland. Interviews available by phone or video call.

What: Resumption of the final round of negotiations for a global treaty to address plastic pollution

Background:

• INC-5.2 is the continuation of the final scheduled meeting of the Parties, who are negotiating on the basis of a 2022 United Nations Environment Assembly mandate to end plastic pollution.
• Negotiations have been characterized to date by resistance from fossil fuel-producing countries and the petrochemical industry, but “high ambition” countries, including Canada, are still working to finalize a deal in Geneva.
• Environmental Defence is advocating for a legally-binding agreement with measures that eliminate pollution generated at every phase of the plastics lifecycle, from extraction of raw materials to refining, manufacturing, use, and waste.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Mira Merchant, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

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