UN plastics talks collapse amid US opposition

Hopes for a global treaty to cut plastic production have faltered after United Nations negotiations collapsed for the sixth time, as reported by Al-Monitor on August 15th.

The breakdown has left campaigners doubtful that the Trump administration will ever support restrictions on one of the world’s most damaging pollutants.

Talks in Geneva stretched over 11 days but ended in disarray, despite speculative optimism at the beginning.  Oil-producing nations, led by the United States, blocked proposals to cap new polymer output. Panama’s negotiator Debbra Cisneros said Washington proved “less open than in previous rounds” under Joe Biden. “This time they were just not wanting anything. So it was hard, because we always had them against us in each of the important provisions,” she explained.

The United States, the world’s second-largest plastics producer, has hardened its stance since Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting plastic straws. Bjorn Beeler of the International Pollutants Elimination Network said, “The mentality is different, and they want to extract more oil and gas out of the ground.”

Talks stalled and frustrations ran high among more than 100 states demanding an ambitious deal. Fiji’s delegate Sivendra Michael compared the absence of production limits to “mopping the floor without turning off the tap”. The World Wildlife Fund warned that each month of delay adds nearly a million tonnes of plastic waste, much of it ending up on island shores.

Delegates described chaotic scenes. Organisers abruptly adjourned a session one hour before the scheduled conclusion, prompting laughter and jeers. France’s ecology minister called the process “chaotic”, while GAIA’s Ana Rocha said it felt like negotiators were “playing with small children”.

Consensus rules requiring unanimity remain a major obstacle. “Consensus is dead,” Beeler argued. Some campaigners now urge voting reforms or even a separate treaty excluding obstructive states. Two rival drafts emerged, but neither won approval. Only China signalled progress by acknowledging the need to address plastics throughout their life cycle.

Al-Monitor, Maghrebi.org