GLOBAL PLASTICS TREATY TALKS IN GENEVA END WITHOUT AGREEMENT AFTER 10 DAYS OF NEGOTIATIONS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
After 10 days of intense negotiations, efforts to finalise a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution ended in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday without agreement on a final text.
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The resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) brought together over 2,600 participants, including 1,400 delegates from 183 countries, nearly 1,000 observers from more than 400 organisations, and around 100 ministers and high-level representatives.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), while no consensus was reached, member states agreed to resume talks at a date yet to be announced, signalling a shared commitment to continue the process. The aim of INC-5.2 was to finalise the treaty’s text and identify unresolved issues ahead of a planned diplomatic conference.
The Geneva talks followed a structured format, starting with an opening plenary, moving into four contact groups on key issues such as plastic design, chemicals of concern, production caps, finance, and compliance, before ending with a closing plenary. Two new draft proposals were introduced, but negotiators failed to reach consensus.
“This has been a hard-fought 10 days against the backdrop of geopolitical complexities, economic challenges, and multilateral strains,” UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said. “While we did not land the treaty text we hoped for, all countries clearly want to remain at the table… we at UNEP will continue the work against plastic pollution – in our groundwater, in our soil, in our rivers, in our oceans, and in our bodies.”
INC Chair, Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, acknowledged the disappointment but urged delegates not to lose momentum. “Failing to reach the goal may bring sadness, even frustration. Yet it should spur us to regain our energy, renew our commitments, and unite our aspirations,” he said.
The global plastics treaty process began in March 2022, when the UN Environment Assembly adopted a resolution to create a legally binding instrument to combat plastic pollution, including marine waste. Since then, negotiations have been held in Punta del Este, Paris, Nairobi, Ottawa, and Busan.
INC Secretariat Executive Secretary Jyoti Mathur-Filipp stressed the need for progress, saying: “As this session concludes, we leave with an understanding of the challenges ahead and a renewed and shared commitment to address them. Progress must now be our obligation.”
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