(Geneva) Negotiations on a treaty aimed at combating the global plastic pollution crisis ended without an agreement on Friday in Geneva, the session having been adjourned and having to resume later.
The nations met for the 11the Day at the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in order to try to conclude a historic treaty to end the plastic pollution crisis. Discussions remain in the impasse as to whether the treaty must reduce the exponential growth in plastic production and establish legally binding global controls on toxic chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics.
Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, said that, despite the difficulties and disappointment, “we must recognize that significant progress has been made”.
This process will not stop, she added, but it is too early to say how long it will take to reach a treaty.
The Youth Plastic Action Network was the only organization to speak during the closing meeting on Friday. Observers’ comments were interrupted at the request of the United States and Kuwait after 24 hours of meetings and negotiations.
Negotiations at the UN headquarters were supposed to be the last cycle and lead to the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans. But, as in the meeting in South Korea last year, they end without treaty.
Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chairman of the negotiation committee, wrote and presented in Geneva two projects of processes based on the points of view expressed by the nations. The representatives of 184 countries have not agreed to use one or the other as the basis of their negotiations.
PHOTO MARTIAL TREZZINI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The president of the negotiation committee (CNI5-2), the Ecuadorian Luis Vayas Valdivieso
Mr. Valdivieso said on Friday morning, when the delegates met again in the meeting room, that no other action was offered at this stage concerning the last project.
A “deeply disappointing” result
Representatives of Norway, Australia, Tuvalu and other countries have expressed their deep disappointment to leave Geneva without treaty. Madagascar said the world “expects acts, not relationships on our part”.
European Commissioner, Jessika Roswall said that the European Union and its member states fed large expectations for this meeting and that, even if the project does not meet their requirements, it constitutes a good basis for a new negotiation session.
Photo Fabrice Coffrini, agency France-Presse
Delegates, activists and citizens are waiting outside the meeting room on the last day of negotiations from a historic world treaty on plastic pollution, at the United Nations in Geneva, August 14, 2025.
“The earth is not just us. We are the guardians of those who will succeed us. Let’s do this duty, ”she said.
The Chinese delegation said that the fight against plastic pollution was a long marathon and that this temporary setback was a new starting point to forge a consensus. It urged nations to collaborate to offer future generations a blue planet without plastic pollution.
Many red lines
The main challenge of negotiations was whether the treaty should impose ceilings on the production of new plastics or rather focus on aspects such as better design, recycling and reuse. The powerful oil and gas producing countries and the plastic industry oppose production limits. They want a treaty focused on better management and reuse of waste.
Saudi Arabia said the two projects lacked balance, and Saudi and Kuwaiti negotiators said the last proposal took more account of other states. The text tackled plastic production, which they consider to be out of the field of application of the treaty.
This project, published on Friday morning, did not provide for a limit to plastic production, but recognized that the current levels of production and consumption are “unbearable” and that a global action is necessary. New arrangements have been added to specify that these levels exceed current waste management capacities and should further increase, “thus requiring a coordinated global response to stop and reverse these trends”.
The objective of the treaty was reworked to specify that it would be based on a global approach taking into account the entire life cycle of plastics. It mentioned the reduction of plastic products containing “one or more concern for human health or the environment”, as well as the reduction of single -use plastic products or short lifespan.
It was a much better and more ambitious text, even if it was not perfect. However, each country arrived in Geneva with many “red lines”, argued Magnus Heunicke, Danish Minister of the Environment. Denmark provides the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe.
“To be very clear, a compromise means that we have to get around our red lines,” he said.
For its part, Iran judged that it was a disappointing period and denounced “non -transparent and not inclusive process on unrealistic elements”, in particular chemicals.
The plastic industry also called for compromise. The members of Global Partners for Plastics Circularity said in a statement that governments should go beyond their sliced positions to finalize an agreement reflecting their common priorities.
Absence of consensus
For a proposal to be integrated into the treaty, the agreement of all nations is necessary. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Vietnam and other countries have declared that consensus was essential to the effectiveness of the treaty. Some countries wish to change the process so that decisions can be taken by vote if necessary.
Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Geneva, urged the delegates to go in this direction.
“We turn around in circles. We cannot continue to do the same thing and hope for a different result, “he insisted at the end of Friday’s meeting.
Thursday was the last day of negotiations planned, but the work on the revised project continued on Friday.
Each year, the world produces more than 400 million tonnes of new plastics, and this figure could increase by around 70 % by 2040 without a change of policy.
A hundred countries want to limit production. Many of them say that it is also essential to fight against toxic chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics.
Environmentalists, waste recovery, Aboriginal leaders and many business leaders went to negotiations to make their voices heard. Some have been creative, but leave disappointed.
Indigenous leaders have sought a treaty that recognizes their rights and knowledge. Frankie Orona, director general of the Society of Native Nations, established in Texas, said that the best option was now to continue the negotiations in order to “fight for a treaty that truly protects populations and the planet”.
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