Chair Luis Vayas Announces His Exit From Post, Bureau To Vote on New Chair
New York, NY– Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador has formally announced that he is stepping down as Chair of the plastics treaty negotiations, creating a leadership vacuum during a pivotal moment in the treaty process. GAIA has frequently critiqued the former Chair Vayas’ lack of transparency and efforts to cater to the lowest common denominator, despite growing ambition amongst a majority of countries.
GAIA members urge the Bureau to elect a Chairperson from the Global South who can unite the ambitious majority in the region, and encourage Member States to break through the consensus deadlock so that a minority negotiating in bad faith can no longer prevent a strong treaty from being agreed to. It has yet to be confirmed what date the vote for a new Chair will take place.
Ana Rocha, Plastics Program Director of GAIA, states:
After the catastrophic leadership of INC-5.2, we need a chair willing to reflect the will of the ambitious majority in the treaty text, be independent from UNEP’s partisan and reckless stewardship of the treaty negotiations, and uphold the 5/14 mandate to cover the full life cycle of plastics. From the very beginning, the Global South has led the charge for a strong treaty– in this pivotal moment in treaty negotiations, we need that leadership more than ever. We encourage the Bureau to elect a Chair that represents Global South vision and commitment to justice.”
Salisa “Yam” Traipipitsiriwat, Senior Campaigner and Southeast Asia Plastics Project Manager of Environmental Justice Foundation Thailand, states:
“We must closely watch what the new Chair brings to the table. It is essential that they come from a high-ambition country, one that is genuinely committed to driving real change. But more importantly, we need to monitor the process itself, which has shown to be in the way of the outcomes the world urgently needs to end the plastic crisis. I hope the new Chair brings fresh energy, clarity, and a renewed sense of hope.”
Nadine Wahab of Sustainable Network Egypt Eco-Dahab states:
“While Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso’s departure as Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) marks a shift in leadership, it does not address the real problem. The paralysis in the UNEP-led plastics treaty negotiations stems not from who holds the gavel, but from the process itself. As long as the INC continues to operate without agreed rules of procedure — and as long as decision-making remains trapped in a consensus-only model — injustice will persist. A system that allows a handful of countries to block progress denies equity to the majority of states that are ready to act. It perpetuates an imbalance of power that favors obstruction over cooperation, and status-quo over ambition.
A new chair must do more than guide discussions. The process must begin with a vote to adopt rules of procedure that allow for democratic decision-making when consensus fails. This is not about abandoning dialogue — it’s about recognizing that consensus without justice is not agreement, it’s coercion. The legitimacy of the plastics treaty depends on restoring fairness and functionality to the negotiations.”
Rafael Eudes of Aliança Resíduo Zero Brasil states:
“Luis Vayas’ resignation represents a wake-up call for the plastics treaty negotiations. It offers a chance to solve the deadlock by confronting the deeper structural failures that have allowed petrostate influence and unequal power dynamics to undermine ambition. Plastic pollution is a colonial crisis, with the Global South bearing the impacts of waste colonialism and toxic exposure while decisions favor the interests of a few. To restore legitimacy, the INC must move beyond the tyranny of consensus and empower leadership grounded in justice and science. The Bureau now has a critical role to play: ensuring transparency, and resisting political pressure, while honoring the ambition that the Global South has consistently brought to the table.”
Press contacts:
Claire Arkin, Global Communications Lead
claire@no-burn.org | +1 973-444-4869
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GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 1,000 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries. With our work, we aim to catalyze a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution. We envision a just, zero-waste world built on respect for ecological limits and community rights, where people are free from the burden of toxic pollution, and resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped.