Julio Cordano is a Chilean career diplomat who has served as chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which is charged with developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, since 7 February 2026.; ;
He holds the rank of ambassador and serves as the director of the Environment, Climate Change and Oceans Division of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He previously served as Chile's chief negotiator during its presidency of the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25).; ;
Early life and education Cordano holds a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Chile and a master's degree in Public Management from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. He is also a graduate of the Andrés Bello Diplomatic Academy.; ;
Diplomatic career Cordano entered the Chilean diplomatic service in 1996. From 2012 to 2021 he headed the Climate Change and Sustainable Development department of the Chilean Foreign Ministry. He also served as a counsellor at Chile's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and was a member of the UNFCCC Adaptation Committee.; ;
He was Chile's lead negotiator at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and chief negotiator for the Chilean presidency of COP25 in 2019, where he developed the "Blue COP" agenda drawing attention to the effects of climate change on the oceans.; ;
He was promoted to the rank of ambassador in October 2023 while remaining head of the Environment, Climate Change and Oceans Division.; ;
Chair of the plastics treaty negotiation Election The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee was established under United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/14 in 2022 with a mandate to conclude a treaty by the end of 2024.; ;
But at its fifth session, held in Busan in late 2024 and resumed in Geneva in August 2025, ended without agreement. Its former chair, Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador, stepped down in October 2025, citing personal and professional reasons, and Johanna Lissinger Peitz of Sweden presided as vice-chair in the interim.; ;
A one-day resumed session, INC-5.3, was convened at the Geneva International Conference Centre on 7 February 2026 for the sole purpose to elect the officers of the Committee.; ;
Three candidates stood for Chair: Cordano, Cheikh Ndiaye Sylla of Senegal, and Nazia Zaib Ali of Pakistan. After a two-hour suspension requested by Kuwait and several other delegations failed to produce a consensus candidate, the committee proceeded to a secret ballot under its draft rules of procedure.; ;
In the first round, Cordano received 73 of 155 votes, short of the required 78, with Sylla at 48 and Zaib Ali at 34. In the second round, Cordano was elected with 92 votes to Sylla's 53.;
In response to the vote, Argentina lamented that the outcome was not reached by consensus and asked that the Committee not treat the vote as a precedent. Linroy Christian of Antigua and Barbuda was elected vice-chair by acclamation, and Irma Gurguliani of Georgia was designated rapporteur.; ; ;
On his election Cordano described plastic pollution as "a planetary problem that affects every country, community and individual" and said he was "willing and determined to play a leading role in helping the Committee cross the finish line".; ; ;
See also Global plastic pollution treaty Plastic pollution
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