Plastic pollution talks go into overtime as countries push for late breakthrough

15/8/2025 7:23

Talks to create the world's first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution hung in the balance late on Thursday as countries scrambled to bridge deep divisions over the extent of future curbs on a final day of negotiations in Geneva.



Late Thursday night, countries awaited a new text which could be the basis for further negotiations after delegations who want an ambitious plastics treaty threw out the one proposed on Wednesday.



States pushing for a comprehensive treaty, including Panama, Kenya, Britain and the European Union, shared frustration that key articles on the full life cycle of plastic pollution from the production of polymers to the disposal of waste, as well as the harm to health, had been removed entirely from the text.



Oil-producing nations are against curbs on the production of virgin plastics derived from petroleum, coal, and gas, while others want it to be limited and to have stricter controls over plastic products and hazardous chemicals.