From August 5th to 14th, four Planeteers— Dejea Lyons (22), Diego Arreola Fernandez (23), Zara Hawkins (16), and Ashton Hawkins (14)— had the opportunity to attend the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee (INC) on plastic pollution to establish a legally binding global plastics treaty.
Each of these Planeteer leaders not only reported on the negotiation’s progress, but also voiced their concern for the plastic pollution crisis. They connected with other youth attendees, met with important delegates, and even led youth-specific sessions.
On August 27th, Planeteer Alliance hosted a live virtual event for the Planeteer community— where thirty Planeteers had the opportunity to hear from Dejea, Diego, Zara, and Ashton on their experience and takeaways from their time at INC-5.2. Shellan Saling, Interim Chair for Youth Plastic Action Network, was also in attendance as an audience member.
Dejea presented on what the global plastics treaty is, the history of INCs, and how it has evolved up until this most recent session. She also explained how member states have different levels of agency when it comes to global policy negotiations.
“In order for us to move forward in creating a better planet, there has to be something out there that is going to hold everyone accountable, whether its citizens or governments or organizations,” said Dejea.
Next, Diego explained the content within the treaty text, and why there is still disagreement among member states. The first reason: over 200 lobbyists representing various countries’ plastic and oil industries. The second reason: the weakness of language within treaty text.
“The word ‘Should’ is like your Mom saying, ‘Do you want to go clean your room now, sweetie?,’” explained Diego.
Diego explained that the use of softer language—such as “should” and “are encouraged”—significantly weakened the treaty and contributed to the lack of consensus. These terms reduce the obligation on states, making it easier for them to avoid fully committing. As a result, states opposed to a strong treaty often advocate for such language. In contrast, the use of “shall” is more forceful and legally binding, signaling a clear requirement for compliance. This stronger language is typically supported by states pushing for a stricter, more impactful treaty.
While under-18 youth are technically not allowed to attend INCs, Ashton and Zara Hawkins explained why youth voices need to be present at these negotiations. The Hawkins siblings shared how they were able to help launch the Youth Plastic Action Network (YPAN), create video content to help explain complex issues, and share their petition against plastic subsidies with leaders at INC-5.2. The latter successfully contributed to the final text proposal.
“While under-18s may have been a minority, our voices often have a greater leverage than that of adults,” said Zara Hawkins.
“The youth presence at INC-5.2 was greater than ever before,” said Ashton Hawkins.
Planeteer Alliance’s INC-5.2 recap event concluded with a Q+A from audience members, where Planeteers asked questions about the future of procedural changes within INC, how to deal with the inevitable frustrations in the environmental policy space, and how each of the Planeteers began their journeys as environmental activists.
As Planeteer audience members wrote their takeaways from the event, many expressed their relief that the hope for a strong treaty remained, despite the obstacles faced at INC-5.2.
“It’s encouraging, because I had concerns that maybe there were people who [would want to] find ways to go against it. It was encouraging that we collectively want to do something about it,” said Victoria Benson of Nigeria.
They also expressed gratitude that youth leaders such as Diego, Dejea, Zara, Ashton and many others were leading the charge, creating coalitions of powerful young people— their voices at the epicenter of action.
“I must say, I am incredibly proud of all of our panelists and I am glad to be a part of the Planeteers movement,” wrote Oyindamola Fasule of Nigeria in response to the INC 5.2 Virtual Event.