Global plastic treaty, The discussions in Geneva in August 2025 came to a conclusion but there was no treaty text drafted after more than 1,400 delegates from 183 nations participated in negotiations for 10 days.
What Is The Key Issue?
There is a disagreement among countries on whether the treaty should focus on the entire life cycle of plastic, including its production and design stage, or only on end-of-life disposal. On the one hand, the EU along with its partners wish to limit the use of new plastic, while the oil and gas producers would like the treaty to focus on recycling. About 9% of the plastic waste is currently recycled in the world.
What Is The Turn Of Events?
There was no schedule for negotiating the next meeting. The chair resigned in October 2025 and at the next one-day meeting in February 2026 a new chair Julio Cordano from Chile was appointed without any negotiations taking place. Environmental advocates believed that it was better to have no treaty than a weak treaty.
Why Is It Important? – global plastic treaty
Business groups such as Coca-Cola, Walmart and PepsiCo have urged binding rules across the entire value chain and WHO has warned of rising health risks. By 2024, humans were expected to consume in excess of 500 million tonnes of plastic.
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