Negotiations to create an international treaty to reduce plastic pollution have once again ended without an agreement in place.
The negotiators hoped to meet for the final time in Switzerland to tackle the remaining issues holding up the treaty. These include whether the treaty should include caps on the production of primary plastic, how to address chemicals of concern in plastic products, and how to finance the implementation of the legislation, with some of the large oil producing countries arguing the focus should be on recycling rather than limits to production.
Back in 2022 the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) was asked to create an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop legislation to cover the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal, with the ambition to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024. However, since then negotiating sessions have taken place in Uruguay, France, Kenya, Canada and South Korea – and now Switzerland – without agreeing a deal.
“And to the many observers – the scientists, waste pickers, Indigenous Peoples groups, business, youth, civil society – I know this will not be the ending you had hoped for, and nor indeed the ending that we at UNEP have worked for,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UNEP at the end of the session.
Andersen said that while progress had been made, divides remain regarding core issues on production, plastic products and finance.
“The world needs more time to come to full agreement on these critical issues,” she said.
The UN has warned that the rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution represent a serious global environmental issue. Last year saw the consumption of over 500 million tonnes of plastics - with much of this quickly becoming 400 million tonnes of plastic waste. Without any action, global plastic waste could almost triple to around 1.2 billion tonnes by 2060.
Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and Competitive Circular Economy said on X: “We came to Geneva to secure a global plastics treaty because we know the stakes could not be higher. Plastic pollution is one of the defining crises of our age, and our responsibility to act is clear. While the latest text on the table does not yet meet all our ambitions, it is a step forward—and the perfect must not be the enemy of the good.”
The International Chamber of Commerce said it was disappointed that no agreement had been reached. “From a global business perspective, an effective international framework on plastics remains vital to provide the certainty needed to drive investment and innovation and accelerate practical solutions to address plastic pollution,” it said.
The Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty – a group of 300 businesses from across the plastics value chain, financial institutions and NGO partners – said that despite the failure to agree a deal, over 100 countries were aligned on the key elements including phase-outs, product design, and extended producer responsibility.
The group said that a treaty with international obligations to phase out the most problematic plastic products could help eliminate more than twice as many problematic and avoidable plastic products compared to a treaty based on voluntary national measures. Phasing out these products and introducing common design requirements could reduce plastic waste by 23%, it said. It said a treaty that sets common criteria for product design could significantly increase the recyclability and reusability of products across the world and boost recycling revenues to $576 billion by 2040.
“An ambitious treaty addressing the full lifecycle of plastic can drive consistency across borders, support national ambitions, and provide the lowest cost option to effectively address plastic pollution. Voluntary efforts are not enough, and the current fragmented regulatory landscape results in increased costs and complexity for business,” said Jodie Roussell, global public affairs lead, packaging and sustainability at Nestlé.
Negotiations will start again at a future date, yet to be announced.
For over 100 years Chemistry & Industry (C&I) magazine has reported on the scientific advances being harnessed to tackle society's biggest challenges. C&I covers advances in agrifood, energy, health and wellbeing, materials, sustainability and environment, as well as science careers, policy and broader innovation issues. C&I’s readers are scientific researchers, business leaders, policy makers and entrepreneurs who harness science to spark innovation.
Get the latest science and innovation news every month with a subscription to Chemistry & Industry magazine. You can subscribe to C&I here.
Visit Blog