Plastic pollution treaty stalled as Geneva talks end without deal

15/8/2025 15:51

Delegates discussing the world's first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution failed to reach consensus, diplomats said on Friday, voicing disappointment and even rage that the 10-day talks produced no deal.



Delegates had been seeking a breakthrough in the deadlocked United Nations' talks in Geneva, but states pushing for an ambitious treaty said that the latest text released in the early hours of Friday failed to meet their expectations.



French ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said in the talks' closing session that she was "enraged because despite genuine efforts by many, and real progress in discussions, no tangible results have been obtained."



In an apparent reference to oil-producing nations, Colombia's delegate Haendel Rodriguez said a deal had been "blocked by a small number of states who simply did not want an agreement."



The path forward for the negotiations is uncertain.



Some countries like Britain said that negotiations should resume but others described a broken process.



"It is very clear that the current process will not work," South Africa's delegate said.