The Latest Global Plastics Treaty Talks Failed. Where Does That Leave the Plastic Pollution Crisis?

In August this year, 2,600 participants from 183 countries convened for the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2) to discuss the global plastics crisis. But after ten days of negotiations, the result was disappointing — still no agreed Global Plastics Treaty.

INC-5.2 was the latest round of talks that began with INC-1 during 2022, in Uruguay. This time, the delegates met in Switzerland, hoping to agree upon a global treaty to regulate the way that plastic is produced, consumed and disposed of. The lack of progress to agree to a final text for the treaty comes down to the fundamental differences in the broader viewpoints between nations, and notably between two groups: the High Ambition Coalition and the so-called like-minded group.

The former is a group of more than 70 countries, including the U.K., South Korea and Canada, and is co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda. It is pushing for an ambitious global agreement, insisting that plastic production must be curtailed to avoid ongoing negative impacts to the climate, the environment and human health. The coalition wants to end plastic pollution by 2040 — the same year by which, as things stand, plastic waste leakage into the ocean is due to triple. In the ongoing negotiations, they have been meeting with resistance from the aforementioned “like-minded group” of countries. This formation — including oil-producing nations such as China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, among a handful of others — was introduced by Iran in earlier negotiations. These countries have been pushing for a focus on recycling infrastructure instead of limiting plastic production. But their critics are skeptical that this could move the needle on pollution, and with good reason: Currently, only around 9 percent of global plastic waste is recycled.