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EXPERT COMMENT

Plastics producers at the INC-5 talks resisted curbs on production that others insist are essential. But negotiators have another chance early next year.

Negotiations aimed at securing a legally binding international treaty to combat the growing scourge of plastics pollution ended in division in the South Korean city of Busan at the weekend. 

Governments will make a further effort early next year to reach agreement – though the challenges for achieving a better result in 2025 will require renewed commitment from all parties involved.   

The Intergovernmental Negotiations Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) had a clear mandate from the United Nations Environment Assembly in 2022 to conclude the negotiations by the end of 2024. However, the lengthy and complex process was marked by intense debates and competing national interests. 

In the final phase, two major country blocs emerged. A larger group of over 100 nations supported a comprehensive approach to end plastic pollution. 

That would include limiting upstream production of plastic polymer feedstocks and harmful chemicals used in plastics, while not restricting the treaty’s scope to the sustainable design of products and waste management. 

A smaller but influential bloc, consisting of fossil-fuel producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, resisted efforts to include measures regulating upstream production. This division created significant tension and stalled progress.

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