Casablanca – Ten days of high-stakes negotiations between 185 nations aimed at forging the world’s first legally binding treaty to combat plastic pollution ended in deadlock on Friday, with diplomats leaving the United Nations’ Palais des Nations in disbelief and frustration.
The talks were billed as the final push in a three-year process to address a crisis that sees millions of tonnes of plastic waste entering the oceans each year.
“We will not have a treaty to end plastic pollution here in Geneva,” Norway’s negotiator said, while Cuba lamented: “We have missed a historic opportunity.”
The collapse centred on a familiar divide: a coalition led by the European Union, Canada, Kenya, and several African and Latin American nations called for strict measures to cut global plastic production and phase out toxic chemicals.
On the other side, largely oil-producing states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Iran and Malaysia, insisted the treaty should focus solely on waste management, leaving production limits off the table.
Kenya’s Environment Minister Deborah Barasa urged compromise, saying nations could agree on a framework now and work out technical details later. “We need to come to a middle ground,” she told reporters. “We need to leave with the treaty.”
The OECD warns that if current trends continue, fossil-fuel-based plastic production will nearly triple by 2060, reaching 1.2 billion tonnes annually.
For small island states, the stakes are existential. Speaking on behalf of 14 Pacific nations, Tuvalu warned that without global cooperation, “millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture.”
Ecuador’s Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, announced that discussions would resume at a later date. Environmental groups warned that without a shift in strategy, the process risks repeating its failures.
Read also: Geneva Talks Reignite Hope for Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution
