The United Nations’ effort to finalise the world’s first legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution hit a major roadblock as member countries failed to reach a consensus on the basic parameters of the draft text. After ten days of hectic negotiations at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, around 190 countries, which have had multiple rounds of talks since 2022, failed to hammer out a draft text for the treaty.
A disappointed UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said at a press conference after the closing plenary that “Multilateralism is never easy, and getting a treaty in two to three years is never done.”
India was among the petroleum-producing nations, including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran, that opposed a cap on plastic production, which created a deadlock. The US, too, backed this stand.
Naresh Pal Gangwar, who headed the Indian delegation, said that “India would like to state its inability to support any measures to regulate the production of primary plastic polymers, as it has larger implications in respect of the right to development of member states”.
However, the other group, consisting of 100 nations including the EU, the UK, Colombia, and Mexico, stated that they would not sign a treaty that does not set binding caps on plastic production or have a dedicated section on chemicals of concern. Norway’s remarks on behalf of the High Ambition Coalition spelt out the position. Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, said, “Over the course of this negotiation, we have clearly and repeatedly stated that we need an international, legally binding instrument that effectively protects human health and the environment from plastic pollution…”
Though there are acute differences between blocs of nations, all may not be lost. There is a likelihood of another session next year, though the date and venue have not been set.
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Published on August 18, 2025
