More than 500 French-speaking NGOs united for an ambitious plastics treaty

As the final negotiations of the global treaty against plastic pollution (INC-5.2) begin in Geneva, more than 500 French-speaking civil society organizations from over 40 countries and territories have signed an open letter calling on governments to adopt an ambitious text focused on massively reducing plastic production.

United for the first time on this scale, French-speaking NGOs affirm with one voice that the status quo is no longer tenable and that only resolute, binding and equitable action will be able to stop the environmental, health and social damage caused by plastics.

An open letter with a clear message: produce less, pollute less

The open letter, signed by more than 500 French-speaking civil society organizations, calls for a paradigm shift in how plastics are produced, used, and regulated. It strongly asserts a simple but essential idea: the more plastic we produce, the more we pollute. Faced with the failure of recycling as a systemic solution, the signatories call for an approach based on source reduction.

The text sets out several structuring priorities that States are invited to integrate into the future treaty:

• Legally binding targets for reducing plastic production, particularly for single-use and non-essential plastics, to halt the continued growth in volumes produced globally;
• The gradual elimination of toxic substances added to plastics, responsible for multiple impacts on human health, wildlife and ecosystems;
• A just transition, which guarantees that the rights, needs and livelihoods of workers affected by the upcoming changes are taken into account, particularly in the informal collection and sorting sectors;
• Recognition of the right to a healthy environment for all populations, particularly the most vulnerable communities and those most exposed to plastic pollution;
• Strengthened monitoring and transparency in the implementation of the treaty, with significant involvement of local communities, scientists and NGOs in governance mechanisms.

The letter also emphasizes the need to break with the throwaway economic model, which is based on a logic of extraction, production, rapid consumption, and disposal. This logic, driven by large petrochemical and plastics companies, is identified as one of the main drivers of the current ecological crisis.

By affirming that a world free from plastic pollution is possible, French-speaking civil society is calling for a shift away from half-measures and false solutions—such as systematic recycling or so-called "bio-sourced" plastics—to initiate a structural transformation based on sobriety, reuse, and social justice.

A counter-power against industrial lobbies: a mobilization to be strengthened

As negotiations on the plastic pollution treaty enter their decisive phase, the industries concerned—particularly petrochemicals, plastics producers, and the tobacco sector—are deploying considerable resources to weaken the ambition of the future text. Several hundred representatives from these sectors have been accredited to participate in the Geneva session. Their objective is clear: to preserve an economic model based on mass production by promoting insufficient substitutes, such as recycling or so-called "alternative" plastics, and by challenging source reduction targets.

In this context, the coordinated mobilization of French-speaking civil society constitutes an essential counter-power. It allows us to refocus the debate on the general interest, public health, and environmental justice, in response to the growing influence of industrial actors.

The National Committee Against Tobacco (CNCT) is a signatory to this open letter and is fully committed to supporting environmental and health organizations in defending an ambitious treaty. In particular, it reaffirms the need to ban cigarette filters, which represent a massive flow of plastic pollution with no health benefits, and to ensure the exclusion of the tobacco industry from the negotiations, in accordance with the principles of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

In this spirit, the open letter remains open for signature by all French-speaking civil society organizations committed to protecting the environment, health, climate, or human rights. It constitutes a collective lever for strengthening the influence of NGOs in international negotiations and demanding a treaty that meets the challenges.

The letter can be viewed and signed online: Open letter for an ambitious plastic treaty – French version

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE