No end in sight to plastic pollution crisis as treaty negotiations in
Geneva fail
[August 16, 2025]
By JENNIFER McDERMOTT
GENEVA (AP) — Negotiations to reach a major treaty to end growing
plastic pollution around the world fell apart on Friday, with delegates
in Switzerland adjourning with no immediate plans to resume.
The consequence of the failed talks is devastating, as it leaves no
clear path for nations to collectively address the mountains of plastic
that are filling landfills, clogging oceans and showing up in chunks on
beaches and other public places.
“Consensus is dead,” Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator for the
International Pollutants Elimination Network, upon adjournment.
Every year, the world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic,
and that could grow by about 70% by 2040 without policy changes. About
100 countries want to limit production. Many have said it’s also
essential to address toxic chemicals used to make plastics.
The final decision, or lack there of, underscored the influence of the
United States and other oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia,
which opposed any limit on the productions of plastics, made mostly from
fuels like oil and gas.
Nations had worked for 11 days at the United Nations office in Geneva.
But they were deadlocked over whether the treaty should reduce
exponential growth of plastic production and put global, legally binding
controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics.
Environmentalists, waste pickers and Indigenous leaders and many
business executives traveled to the talks to make their voices heard.
Indigenous leaders sought a treaty that recognizes their rights and
knowledge.
The Youth Plastic Action Network was the only organization that spoke at
the closing meeting Friday. Comments from observers were cut off at the
request of the U.S. and Kuwait after 24 hours of meetings and
negotiating.
After the adjournment, some delegates tried to put a good face on the
negotiations and expressed hope for future talks. Delegates did agree
they would meet again at some point in the future.
Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment
Programme, said despite challenges, despite the disappointment, “we have
to accept that significant progress was made.”
This process won’t stop, she said, but it’s too soon to say how long it
will take to get a treaty now.
A repeat of last year's failure
The negotiations were supposed to be the last round and produce the
first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the
oceans. But just like at the meeting in South Korea last year, the talks
ended with no agreement.
Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee, wrote and
presented two drafts of treaty text in Geneva based on the views
expressed by the nations. The representatives from 184 countries did not
agree to use either one as the basis for their negotiations.
Valdivieso said Friday morning as the delegates reconvened in the
assembly hall that no further action was being proposed at this stage on
the latest draft.
After a three-hour meeting, he banged a gavel made of recycled plastic
bottle tops from a Nairobi landfill, one of many symbols of the plastic
problem that were visible during the talks.
A ‘deeply disappointing' outcome
European Commissioner Jessika Roswall said the European Union and its
member states had higher expectations for this meeting and while the
draft falls short on their demands, it’s a good basis for another
negotiating session.
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A scavenger collects recyclable items including plastic from a dump
site in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M.
Chaudary)
“The Earth is not ours only. We are stewards for those who come
after us. Let us fulfill that duty,” she said.
Representatives of Norway, Australia, Tuvalu and others nations said
they were “deeply disappointed” to be leaving Geneva without a
treaty. Madagascar's representative said the world is “expecting
action, not reports from us.”
China's delegation said the fight against plastic pollution is a
long marathon and that this temporary setback is a new starting
point to forge consensus.
For their part, representatives from plastics industry, heavily
criticized in recent years, called for nations to compromise more to
get a deal. The Global Partners for Plastics Circularity said
governments must move past entrenched positions.
For any proposal to make it into the treaty, every nation must
agree. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Vietnam and others have
said that consensus is vital to an effective treaty. Some countries
want to change the process so decisions may be made by a vote if
necessary.
Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Geneva, urged
delegates in that direction.
“We are going in circles. We cannot continue to do the same thing
and expect a different result,” he said as Friday’s meeting ended.
Red lines that were not surmountable
The biggest issue of the talks has been whether the treaty should
impose caps on producing new plastic or focus instead on things like
better design, recycling and reuse.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.S. opposed cutting plastic production
or banning chemical additives in the treaty. The U.S. supported
provisions to improve waste collection and management, improve
product design and drive recycling, reuse and other efforts to cut
the plastic dumped into the environment.
Saudi Arabia said both drafts lacked balance, and Saudi and Kuwaiti
negotiators said the latest proposal gave more weight to the views
of other nations.
That draft, released early Friday, did not include a limit on
plastic production, but recognized that current levels of production
and consumption are “unsustainable” and global action is needed. New
language had been added to say these levels exceeded current waste
management capacities and are projected to increase further,
“thereby necessitating a coordinated global response to halt and
reverse such trends.”
The objective of the treaty was revamped to state that the accord
would be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full
lifecycle of plastics. It talked about reducing plastic products
containing “a chemical or chemicals of concern to human health or
the environment,” as well as reducing of single-use or short-lived
plastic products.
It was a much better, more ambitious text, though not perfect. Each
country came to Geneva with a lot of “red lines,” said Magnus
Heunicke, the Danish environment minister. Denmark holds the
rotating presidency of the Council of Europe.
“To be very clear, a compromise means that we have to bend our red
lines,” he said.
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