Negotiations to secure a global treaty to combat plastic pollution have reached a stalemate as talks entered their final day, with dozens of countries rejecting the latest draft text. The draft, produced by the talks’ chair, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, aimed to find common ground among the 184 countries gathered at the United Nations in Geneva. However, the text was met with widespread criticism, with countries on both sides of the debate expressing dissatisfaction.
The draft text does not limit plastic production or address chemicals used in plastic products, which have been contentious issues at the talks. About 100 countries want to limit production as well as tackle cleanup and recycling. Many have emphasized the need to address toxic chemicals, while oil-producing countries only want to eliminate plastic waste.
The larger bloc of countries seeking more ambitious actions blasted what they consider a dearth of legally binding action. Panama’s negotiator said, “It is not ambition: it is surrender.” The European Union said the proposal was “not acceptable” and lacked “clear, robust and actionable measures”, while Kenya said there were “no global binding obligations on anything”. Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific island developing states, said the draft risked producing a treaty “that fails to protect our people, culture and ecosystem from the existential threat of plastic pollution”.
On the other hand, oil-producing states, which call themselves the Like-Minded Group, want the treaty to focus primarily on waste management. Kuwait, speaking for the group, said the text had “gone beyond our red lines”, adding that “without consensus, there is no treaty worth signing”. “This is not about lowering ambition: it’s about making ambition possible for all,” it said.
With ministers in Geneva for the final day of negotiations, environmental NGOs following the talks urged them to grasp the moment. The World Wide Fund for Nature said the remaining hours would be “critical in turning this around”. “The implications of a watered-down, compromised text on people and nature around the world is immense,” and failure on Thursday “means more damage, more harm, more suffering”, it said. Greenpeace delegation chief Graham Forbes called on ministers to “uphold the ambition they have promised” and address “the root cause: the relentless expansion of plastic production”.
More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes rubbish. The negotiations aim to find a solution to this pressing environmental issue, but the divisions among countries pose a significant challenge.