As governments prepare to meet for the informal Heads of Delegation meeting in Nairobi from 30 June to 3 July, this informal briefing note considers the key elements of a cross-cutting approach to health protection in the future international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
Throughout the negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, a diverse group of governments have called for the objective of the future instrument to include the protection of both human health and the environment from plastic pollution. Achieving this objective will rely on its operationalization in the treaty text, followed by effective implementation.
This informal briefing note outlines opportunities for advancing health protection that are already receiving attention from a range of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) members across four complementary sets of provisions that are relevant when considering health protection as a cross-cutting issue in the instrument, and considers the role of a dedicated article on human health. The Annex to the briefing note provides a one-page overview of known health impacts across the full life cycle of plastics.
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Recommended citation: TESS. (2026). Considerations for ensuring protection of human health from plastic pollution in the future international legally binding instrument: A cross-cutting approach. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS).
Protecting Human Health as Part of the Plastics Treaty Objective
View this video interview of TESS Executive Director Carolyn Deere Birkbeck and TESS Senior Policy Advisor Lizzie Fuller highlighting the importance of the protection of human health as a core issue for the negotiations. The video was recorded at the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
Plastics Treaty Negotiations
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