After several years of fraught negotiations, 98 Member States of the UN agreed on 20 June 2025 to set up a new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and Pollution. The official acronym is ISP-CWP, to sit alongside the existing Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panels on climate heating IPCC and biodiversity IPBES. This is excellent news, but much of the detail was left to the first plenary session, now set for 2-6 February 2026. Much further work is needed, both to ensure that the new Panel has teeth, and that waste is a core part of its ongoing programme.