Geneva plastic treaty stalls as bloc divides over production limits

Negotiators from 184 countries gathered in Geneva face a widening gap over how to curb plastic pollution, as a binding global treaty appears increasingly fragile just hours before a looming deadline. A new chair’s draft update has failed to bridge core divides, with large blocs insisting on fundamentally different approaches to production, chemicals, and waste management. The talks, already extended beyond planned time, are proceeding amid mounting warnings that a weak or nonbinding outcome would fail to confront the scale of the crisis.

The central fault line pits a bloc of oil-producing states, often grouped as the LikeMinded Group, against a growing coalition pushing for what is commonly described as a high-ambition approach. The former emphasizes waste management, infrastructure, and practical measures to handle plastic waste, while the latter seeks to curb virgin plastic production, restrict certain chemicals used in plastics, and enact stronger lifecycle controls. The United States has aligned with the LikeMinded Group, signaling opposition to upstream limits on production that could affect its petrochemical industries, a stance that has solidified resistance to...