United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) chief Inger Andersen on Thursday urged India to lead efforts towards a robust global plastics treaty, calling for a balance between ambition and inclusiveness.

Speaking to media sources on the occasion of World Environment Day, the UNEP executive director mentioned that the 2025 theme of plastic pollution reflected the “upswell of determination” across the world to find a solution, adding that India, as both a major plastic producer and polluter, must lead by example.

Observing that there is visible political will across member states, Andersen, who is also the United Nations Under-Secretary-General, said, “I’m yet to meet a world leader who doesn’t want to solve it, including prime minister Narendra Modi.”

“I’m really asking for Indian leadership while also understanding India is a country that is still developing. The treaty has to be general enough that everybody sees themselves in the mirror but also ambitious enough that it solves the problem,” she said.

Negotiations for the global plastic treaty began in 2022. Despite consensus on the urgency, there were disagreements that stalled progress at the Busan round in December, 2024. 

“The world has (informally) agreed to a treaty and have come a long way. I think we are seeing a public demand for this and there is scope for businesses too,” Andersen said.

When asked about the expectations from the second part of the fifth session of intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop an internally binding instrument on plastic pollution, the UNEP chief said she is highly hopeful. 

“I believe in the human goodness and the desire to change but I’m also determined. With hope and determination, we can go a long way.”

With about one-fifth of global plastic pollution linked to India, Andersen stressed the need to create value in discarded materials. 

“Globally speaking, there is value in the discarded plastic because you have to recycle it. It is non-valuable because there is no demand that you should recycle it and in India, there is a lot of collection of metals, glass and textiles. Many of the plastics we discard today do not yet have that value.”

The upcoming round of negotiations will be preceded by regional consultations in

Bangkok and informal ministerial discussions at the sidelines of the Oceans Conference that is slated to be co-hosted by France and Costa Rica next week.

The draft treaty sets year-wise targets through 2040 to phase out single-use plastics, including toys and packaging.

When asked about the need for stronger enforcement tools to hold polluters and

governments accountable, Andersen cited the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species (CITES) and the legally-binding Montreal Protocol as working models.

“Enforcement is something we do not do, it happens at the national level and a broad treaty is often simply reflected in national law and legislation to make that happen.”

Shifting to broader environmental issues, she said that while plastic pollution is the central theme this year, other pressing crises such as climate change, desertification and biodiversity loss remain at the core of UNEP’s agenda.

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