FOA Statement on INC 5.2 2025

Since our inception in 2018, the Friends have identified plastic pollution as a global priority that must be meaningfully addressed. Alongside the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) we have worked hard to catalyze positive action. Since its launch, GPAP has grown into the world’s largest multi- stakeholder initiative on tackling plastic pollution, with 25 national country partnerships advancing solutions on the ground. We commend all other partners and local actors who are striving to deliver on-the-ground circular solutions, and are committed to ensuring mobilization and delivery continue until the day a robust treaty is secured. The failure of INC5.2 to agree on a treaty comes at a critical juncture for ocean health. Marine biodiversity is in steep decline: climate change is warming and acidifying the seas, one-third of fish stocks are overexploited, and plastic pollution is suffocating marine life and reappearing on our plates in the food we eat. The international community has been advancing on major frameworks to address these pressures—from the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ), to WTO’s Harmful Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, from SDG14’s drive to conserve and only sustainably use the ocean’s resources, to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 30x30 targets. But without a Plastics Treaty, one of the most pervasive threats to marine ecosystems—and to human health—will remain unaddressed. A strong agreement curbing plastic pollution and harmful chemicals at the source is essential to close governance gaps. Regardless of adoption, action cannot be delayed: governments committed to ending plastic pollution should continue leading the way with ambition. By advancing national measures and coordinating regionally, we can ensure that when a treaty is agreed, it locks in and amplifies progress already achieved. Friends of Ocean Action will work to ensure global ambitions to conserve and restore nature, translate into attaining the healthy ocean required for human well-being. Ambassador Peter Thomson Co-Chair, Friends of Ocean ActionIsabella Lövin Co-Chair, Friends of Ocean Action Alfredo Giron Head, Friends of Ocean Action Friends of Ocean Action www.friendsofoceanaction.org