The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 6th negotiation on plastic pollution, which held from 5 – 15 August 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland ended in a deadlock with negotiators from countries across the globe failing to reach a consensus. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) discussion held to develop the long-awaited internationally binding treaty on plastic pollution was adjourned without reaching an agreement. The formal discussions to end plastic pollution started at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in March 2022 at Nairobi, Kenya. This year’s negotiation was attended by about 3,300 participants from 183 countries and 400 organizations.
UNEP plastic treaty negotiations represent the first global effort to tackle plastic pollution. According to EU delegate at the Geneva negotiation and Danish minister for environment Magnus Heunicke, “plastic pollution is one of the biggest pollution problems we have on earth.” Plastic pollution is a global environmental challenge and one of the most pressing environmental issues of concern worldwide. From shopping bags and water bottles to packaging materials, these plastics are discarded within minutes but persist in the environment for hundreds of years. Plastics do not biodegrade. Instead, they break down into smaller fragments called microplastics, which infiltrate soil, rivers, oceans and even the air we breathe.
They are thus referred to as persistent environmental pollutants causing soil, water and air pollution. Marine life is especially threatened as millions of seabirds, turtles and fish mistake plastic waste for food, leading to starvation, suffocation, entanglement or death of these animals. Scientists estimate that by 2050, there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish by weight if urgent action is not taken. According to UNEP, over 430 million tons of plastic are produced each year and only 9% is recycled. The rest ends up in the environment where they adversely impact the health of all life forms.
The Geneva negotiation was chaired by Luis Vayas Valdivieso from Ecuador. He adjourned the meeting with a pledge to resume talks at an undetermined later date when delegates failed to reach a consensus. Many of the delegates were disappointed that the 10-day talks produced no workable deal.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme pledged that work on the treaty will continue, “We did not get where we want but people want a deal”. Delegates from countries in support of a global plastic pollution treaty had expected a breakthrough in their efforts but were disappointed that the outcome of the talks failed to meet their expectations. The lack of consensus was due to a proposed weak deal that failed to place limits on plastics production. They had proposed a total cap on virgin plastic production which was opposed by oil-producing nations and viewed as ambitious.
French ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher stated that she was “enraged because despite genuine efforts by many and real progress in discussions, no tangible results have been obtained.” Colombia’s delegate Haendel Rodriguez stated that the negotiation was “blocked by a small number of states who simply did not want an agreement.”
Some delegates and climate advocates had revealed that efforts by the European Union and other states to cap virgin plastic production, which is fueled by petroleum, coal and gas, faced opposition from petrochemical-producing countries such as the United States. The U.S. delegate John Thompson declined to comment on this. Britain and some countries in support of the treaty including U.N. officials are of the opinion that negotiations should resume. However, other delegates disagreed stating that the process is already broken. “It is very clear that the current process will not work,” stated Dion George, South Africa’s delegate and minister of forestry, fisheries and environment.
Global Plastics Policy Director Ana Rocha and other anti-plastics campaigners voiced disappointment at the outcome of this year’s negotiation but welcomed states’ rejection of a weak deal that failed to place limits on plastics production. “No treaty is better than a bad treaty,” she said.
