Talks on landmark plastic pollution treaty end without an agreement

Source: CBS News/AP

Updated on: August 15, 2025 / 6:32 AM EDT


Geneva — Negotiators working on a landmark treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution failed to reach an agreement during talks that extended into Friday in Geneva.

Nations were meeting for an 11th day at the United Nations offices there to try to complete a treaty to end the plastic pollution crisis. They remain deadlocked over whether the treaty should reduce exponential growth of plastic production and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics. Some 1,400 delegates took part in the talks.

The negotiations at the U.N. hub were supposed to be the last round and produce the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans. But just like at the meeting in South Korea last year, they're leaving without a treaty.

The biggest issue of the talks has been whether the treaty should impose caps on producing new plastic or focus instead on things like better design, recycling and reuse. Powerful oil- and gas-producing nations and the plastics industry oppose production limits. They want a treaty focused on better waste management and reuse.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/plastic-pollution-treaty-talks-no-agreement/