Delegates from 175 countries met at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee - INC-5 - to develop a historic and international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. Debates centered on reducing plastic production and managing waste, but did resistance from fossil fuel-producing nations stall progress? We find out what happened at this critical meeting from Wong Pui Yi, a Research Consultant with the Basel Action Network, and Mageswari Sangaralingam, an Honorary Secretary from Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Chief Executive at the Consumers’ Association of Penang, who were both at the talks in Busan.



Image credit: Seunghyeok Choi / Break Free From Plastic, Uproot Plastic Coalition

Delegates from 175 countries met at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee - INC-5 - to develop a historic and international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. Debates centered on reducing plastic production and managing waste, but did resistance from fossil fuel-producing nations stall progress? We find out what happened at this critical meeting from Wong Pui Yi, a Research Consultant with the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ban.org/">Basel Action Network</a>, and Mageswari Sangaralingam, an Honorary Secretary from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://foe-malaysia.org/">Sahabat Alam Malaysia</a> and Chief Executive at the Consumers’ Association of Penang, who were both at the talks in Busan.Image credit: Seunghyeok Choi / Break Free From Plastic, Uproot Plastic Coalition

Climate change, ferocious weather and ‘the haze’ are now part our everyday lives. How are our lifestyles connected to them, and what can we do about it? What does the economy have to do with it? Earth Matters engages with activists and experts to explore our changing relationship with the planet that we only borrow from our children.

Earth Matters

Plastics Treaty: Will Nations Cut Production?

Ahead of World Soil Day, we’re digging deep into the importance of soil health, and how it underpins life on Earth. We learn how composting can transform waste into a resource, protect ecosystems, and contribute to a sustainable future from Harbir Gill, a soil enthusiast and founder of Ground Control, which is part of the Text Cycle Group.

Ahead of World Soil Day, we’re digging deep into the importance of soil health, and how it underpins life on Earth. We learn how composting can transform waste into a resource, protect ecosystems, and contribute to a sustainable future from Harbir Gill, a soil enthusiast and founder of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.groundcontrol.my/">Ground Control</a>, which is part of the Text Cycle Group.

Save Our Soils: Why Composting Matters

Delegates from 175 countries met at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee - INC-5 - to develop a historic and international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. Debates centered on reducing plastic production and managing waste, but did resistance from fossil fuel-producing nations stall progress? We find out what happened at this critical meeting from Wong Pui Yi, a Research Consultant at Basel Action Network, and Mageswari Sangaralingam, an Honorary Secretary from Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Chief Executive at the Consumers’ Association of Penang, who were both at the talks in Busan.



Image credit: Seunghyeok Choi / Break Free From Plastic, Uproot Plastic Coalition

Delegates from 175 countries met at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee - INC-5 - to develop a historic and international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. Debates centered on reducing plastic production and managing waste, but did resistance from fossil fuel-producing nations stall progress? We find out what happened at this critical meeting from Wong Pui Yi, a Research Consultant at Basel Action Network, and Mageswari Sangaralingam, an Honorary Secretary from Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Chief Executive at the Consumers’ Association of Penang, who were both at the talks in Busan.Image credit: Seunghyeok Choi / Break Free From Plastic, Uproot Plastic Coalition

Back from Baku, Meenakshi Raman, the President of Sahabat Alam Malaysia and the Head of Programmes at the Third World Network, fills us in on what went down at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP29 - which finished more than 35 hours in overtime, but still left many delegates unhappy, especially from the developing nations. We discuss the outcomes related to climate finance, especially how the decision to adopt a new collective quantified goal on finance was bulldozed through at the closing plenary of COP29, despite a lack of consensus. We also discuss outcomes related to fossil fuel transition and Global Stocktake, COP29’s presidency and governance, and also the broader challenges that remain, as we look forward to COP30 in Brazil in 2025.



Image credit: Shutterstock

Back from Baku, Meenakshi Raman, the President of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://foe-malaysia.org/">Sahabat Alam Malaysia</a> and the Head of Programmes at the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://twn.my/">Third World Network</a>, fills us in on what went down at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://cop29.az/en/home">COP29</a> - which finished more than 35 hours in overtime, but still left many delegates unhappy, especially from the developing nations. We discuss the outcomes related to climate finance, especially how the decision to adopt a new collective quantified goal on finance was bulldozed through at the closing plenary of COP29, despite a lack of consensus. We also discuss outcomes related to fossil fuel transition and Global Stocktake, COP29’s presidency and governance, and also the broader challenges that remain, as we look forward to COP30 in Brazil in 2025.Image credit: Shutterstock

Plastics Treaty: Will Nations Cut Production?

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