August 15, 2025 | 09:25 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Despite running over Thursday's deadline, representatives from 185 countries failed to reach a deal to bring the world closer to ending plastic pollution with a legally binding, global agreement.
"We will not have a treaty to end plastic pollution here in Geneva," Norway's negotiator said following talks in Geneva that went into the early hours of Friday, August 15, 2025.
Meeting on the 11th day of talks, countries could not agree on whether the treaty should reduce growth of plastic production and put legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics or focus more on recycling, reuse and improved design.
"We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently. The planet and present and future generations need this treaty," said Cuba.
What issues divided countries at the plastic pollution talks?
Large oil and gas-producing nations and the plastics industry opposed limits on the production of plastic. Instead, they wanted a treaty that emphasized better waste management and reuse.
"Our views were not reflected ... without an agreed scope, this process cannot remain on the right track and risks sliding down a slippery slope," said Kuwait.
China's delegation compared ending plastic pollution to a marathon and said Friday's collapsed talks represented a temporary setback and served as a new starting point to forge consensus.
The High Ambition Coalition, made up of European Union, Britain, Canada and many African and Latin American countries, wanted to the treaty to require a reduction in plastic production and the elimination of toxic chemicals used in plastics.
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.
"The Earth is not ours only. We are stewards for those who come after us. Let us fulfill that duty," she said, adding that the EU would "continue to push for a stronger, binding agreement that safeguards public health and protects the environment.
What happens next?
For any proposal to make it currently into the treaty, every nation must agree.
India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Vietnam and others have said consensus is vital to an effective treaty. But other countries want to change the process so decisions may be made by a vote.
"We are going in circles. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result," said Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Geneva.
Palau, speaking for 39 small island developing states, expressed frustration at the effort put into talks and then "repeatedly returning home with insufficient progress to show our people."
Similar plastic pollution negotiations last year in South Korea also collapsed without an agreement.
How much plastic do we produce and what happens to it?
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.
More than half the plastic produced annually is used only once. Though 15% of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only 9% is actually recycled.
About 46%, ends up in landfills, 17% is incinerated and 22% is mismanaged and becomes litter on land or in oceans.
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