Plastic treaty talks end with disappointment and no solution in sight

Efforts to hammer out a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution have once again hit a wall. After years of work and six formal negotiation rounds, talks wrapped up in Geneva without an agreement.

Delegates from 185 countries worked past the deadline and into the early hours, but the gap between two opposing sides proved too wide to bridge.

This round of negotiations – billed as a last-chance summit after a similar breakdown in South Korea last year – was seen as a potential turning point. Instead, frustration ruled.

What’s holding back a plastic treaty?

The main split was clear. One group, known as the High Ambition Coalition, includes countries like Canada, the UK, and members of the EU. They’re pushing for limits on plastic production and a gradual phase-out of harmful chemicals used in plastics.

On the other side, oil-producing nations grouped under the “Like-Minded Group” – including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Kuwait, and Malaysia – want a treaty focused only on waste management, not production cuts. These countries argue that targeting production would penalize resource-rich developing nations.

“Our views were not reflected without an agreed scope, this process cannot remain on the right track and risks sliding down a slippery slope,” said Kuwait.

Bahrain added that it supported a treaty that “does not penalize developing countries for exploiting their own resources.”

Tensions boil over

The emotional toll was visible. France’s Ecological Transition Minister, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, didn’t mince words. “I am disappointed, and I am angry,” she said.

“A handful of countries, guided by short-term financial interests, had blocked the adoption of an ambitious treaty. Oil-producing countries and their allies have chosen to look the other way.”

Tuvalu, speaking on behalf of 14 Pacific island nations, voiced deep frustration.

“For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture.”

Colombia was equally direct, nothing that the negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don’t want an agreement.

“We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently. The planet and present and future generations need this treaty,” said Cuba.

Plastic treaty process in chaos

Midweek, as talks looked increasingly fragile, the chair of the negotiations, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, issued a draft treaty based on overlapping areas. It was rejected across the board.

The High Ambition Coalition said it was too weak. The Like-Minded Group said it was too broad.

Valdivieso scrambled to salvage the talks with closed-door meetings and a revised draft. But shortly before sunrise, it was clear: no deal.

The plastic problem, by the numbers

Over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year. Half of that is used once and tossed.

Only 15% of plastic waste is even collected for recycling. Of that, only 9% ends up actually recycled.

Nearly half goes straight to landfills. Another 17% is incinerated. The remaining 22% ends up polluting landscapes, oceans, and waterways.

Microplastics have now been found on Mount Everest and in the Mariana Trench. They’re in our lungs, our blood, and our food.

And the problem is accelerating. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, plastic production could nearly triple by 2060, reaching 1.2 billion tonnes a year. Plastic waste is expected to top one billion tonnes.

What happens next for plastic talks?

No one is quite sure what happens next. Some countries called for a seventh round of talks. South Africa insisted that it cannot end here. The EU called the latest draft a “good basis for a resumed session.”

Whether or not countries return to the table will depend on political pressure, shifting alliances, and the mounting cost of inaction. Scientists and environmental groups are urging negotiators not to let the momentum slip away.

In the meantime, national governments may move forward with their own plastic restrictions, bans, or recycling mandates. But without a global plan, the patchwork approach will struggle to keep up with a problem that knows no borders.

Consumers, too, are becoming more vocal. The failure to reach a deal may only fuel public demand for action, transparency, and accountability from industries driving plastic production.

The urgency remains. Plastic pollution isn’t slowing down – and neither should the effort to stop it.

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