Talks aimed at finalizing the world’s first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution collapsed in Geneva on Friday, with delegates from more than 180 countries leaving without a deal after nearly two weeks of negotiations. The session, which extended into overtime after a planned ten-day schedule, ended in deadlock over fundamental disagreements on how to confront the crisis.
The session, chaired by Ecuador’s Luis Vayas Valdivieso, ended in the early hours with no consensus and no clear timetable for resumption. “We did not get where we want but people want a deal,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
French ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told the closing session that she was “enraged because despite genuine efforts by many, and real progress in discussions, no tangible results have been obtained.”
Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator for the International Pollutants Elimination Network, declared after the adjournment: “Consensus is dead.”
Production caps versus recycling focus
At the heart of the dispute was whether the treaty should impose limits on new plastic production, much of it derived from petroleum, gas, and coal. More than 100 countries, including members of the European Union and small island states, argued that only strict production caps could address what they describe as an escalating crisis.
Oil- and gas-producing states Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United States resisted efforts to curtail production, arguing that the treaty should prioritize better product design and recycling. The U.S. supported provisions to improve waste collection and reuse but declined to back production caps. Saudi Arabia said the proposed drafts lacked balance and weighted negotiations toward other nations’ demands.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait argued that the latest draft treaty text failed to balance competing views, while the U.S. delegation declined to comment publicly. The draft acknowledged that current production and consumption levels were “unsustainable” and exceeded waste management capacities, but it stopped short of calling for specific limits.
Colombia’s delegate Haendel Rodriguez accused opponents of blocking progress: a deal had been “blocked by a small number of states who simply did not want an agreement.”
“Of course we cannot hide that it is tragic and deeply disappointing to see some countries trying to block an agreement,” said Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke, who represented the EU in the talks.
A repeat of past failures
This week’s breakdown echoes the collapse of negotiations in South Korea late last year, which also ended without agreement. Despite 10 days of talks in Geneva, delegates could not agree to use either of the draft texts presented as the basis for future negotiations.
The negotiations had been billed as the final round in a two-year process launched in 2022, when states agreed to produce a treaty covering the entire lifecycle of plastics. Without stronger policies, global plastic production, already at around 460 million metric tons annually, could rise by 70% by 2040, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Frustration and anger as delegates leave Geneva without a deal
The failure sparked open frustration from several delegations. French Ecology Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher told the closing session she was “enraged because despite genuine efforts by many, and real progress in discussions, no tangible results have been obtained.” Colombia’s delegate Haendel Rodríguez accused a “small number of states who simply did not want an agreement” of blocking progress.
Civil society groups echoed the anger. “The vast majority of governments want a strong agreement, yet a handful of bad actors were allowed to use the process to drive such ambition into the ground,” said Graham Forbes, global plastics campaign lead for Greenpeace USA. Ana Rocha, Global Plastics Policy Director at GAIA, argued that “no treaty is better than a bad treaty.”
Erin Simon, head of plastic waste and business at environmental non-profit WWF, said it was “deeply disappointing” to leave Geneva without a meaningful way forward. “This breakdown in negotiations means the plastic crisis will continue unchecked, while the world waits for the urgent action it so desperately needs.”
South Africa’s delegate said, “It is very clear that the current process will not work.” Madagascar’s representative added, the world is “expecting action, not reports from us.”
The plastics industry, facing increasing scrutiny, urged governments to compromise. Marco Mensink of the International Council of Chemical Associations said manufacturers remained “committed to supporting a treaty that keeps plastics in the economy and out of the environment by advancing a circular economy.”
Despite deep divisions, several delegates pledged to continue pressing for a deal. “The Earth is not ours only. We are stewards for those who come after us. Let us fulfill that duty,” said European Commissioner Jessika Roswall.