The First Global Plastics Treaty at Risk
Is the first-ever international treaty addressing plastic pollution at risk? In March of 2022, the United Nations (UN) announced its plan to create the first international, legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.[1] The original agreement was expected to be finalized by the end of 2024.[2] Now entering 2026 with the stalling of negotiations[3] and the departure of the treaty chair[4], the first-ever global plastics treaty seems to be at risk.
The Plastic Pollution Problem
The harms of plastic pollution are primarily attributable to both the production and disposal of plastic products. Production begins with fossil fuels, as over 90% of plastic is produced using crude oil and natural gas extracted through processes such as drilling and fracking.[5] The raw materials are then refined into plastic pellets to later be molded into plastic products.[6] In 2019, the production process alone accounted for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[7] Moreover, global plastic production is estimated to have doubled from 2000 to 2019.[8]
Additionally, plastic disposal poses further environmental harm. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that plastic products can take between “100 to 1,000 years or more” to fully decompose, depending on environmental factors.[9] Furthermore, the EPA estimated that in 2018, 8% of U.S. plastic waste was recycled while 76% was landfilled.[10] Plastic waste in landfills results in microplastics that are carried to the surrounding environment by air and leachate.[11] Microplastics in the environment cause potential health risks in both wildlife and humans.[12]
UN Plastics Treaty Sessions
In March of 2022, at a UN environmental assembly in Nairobi, the end plastic pollution resolution was adopted.[13] The resolution directed the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution by the end of 2024.[14] The treaty was to address the protection of the marine environment, national reporting requirements, alternative product design of plastics, sound waste management methods, and potential compliance issues with the treaty.[15]
Since the adopted resolution, the INC has hosted six sessions, inviting countries and organizations to participate in and negotiate treaty provisions.[16] The process of INC sessions has generally followed common legislative procedures. Members submit proposals to the Secretariat, which is then circulated and debated between members.[17] After the debate, the proposal may be subject to a vote that requires more than a 50% affirmative vote to pass and be included in the agreement.[18] The sessions may also utilize small committees to resolve niche issues.[19] The process prioritizes consensus over efficiency, which results in the session reopening issues that were thought to have already been resolved.
The last session, INC-5.2, was hosted on August 5, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland, and consisted of 1,400 delegates from 183 countries and around 1,000 observers representing over 400 organizations.[20]
Coalition Agreement Concerns
Throughout the INC sessions, there have been growing concerns about the inability of country delegates to reach a consensus on the scope and authority of the treaty.
Criticism has surrounded the two most prominent country coalitions, The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) and the Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability (GCPS), for their fundamental disagreement on many issues in the treaty.
Upon the UN adoption of the plastics treaty proposal, the countries of Rwanda and Norway created the HAC.[21] HAC’s main priority is creating an immediately functional treaty that will end plastic pollution by 2040.[22] The HAC has pushed for the treaty to focus on strong provisions governing plastic design, production, consumption, and the entire life cycle of plastic products.[23] Specifically, HAC has called for provisions in the treaty to include binding reporting requirements for all nations, standardized global targets to lower plastic production, and mechanisms to assess implementation.[24] HAC currently consists of 75 countries[25]
Conversely, during the third INC session, the countries of Iran, Russia, China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain announced the formation of the Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability (GCPS).[26] The GCPS has emphasized goals of governing plastic waste management strategies and refraining from mandatory disclosures and reporting.[27] Specifically, the GCPS has been against provisions limiting plastic production.[28]
In the latest INC session, the two coalitions created a deadlock over whether the treaty should include provisions to reduce plastic production and have global, legally binding controls on chemicals used to make plastics.[29] Many countries were disappointed by the lack of progress of the INC-5.2, with a representative of Madagascar explaining that “the world is expecting action, not reports from us.” [30] The final draft of the agreement contained nearly 1,500 brackets placed around text, signifying it had not yet been resolved.[31] INC-5.2 marked the third session after the expected completion date, which ended without a treaty.
Lobbying Concerns
Additionally, there have been further concerns about the lobbying attempts of certain organizations. The strong presence of lobbyists at INC-5.2, including the fossil fuel and chemical industry, has drawn criticism from various session members. [32] Specifically, nineteen fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists have joined the national delegations of Egypt, Kazakhstan, China, Iran, Chile, and the Dominican Republic. [33] Overall, the number of fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists outnumbered the delegations of all European Union nation delegates combined.[34] Their presence throughout the sessions has made members call for a conflict-of-interest policy, which has yet to be adopted.[35]
Future of the Treaty
On October 7, 2025, two months after INC-5.2, the chair of the UN plastics treaty talks, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, announced he would be resigning from the position.[36] Following the resignation, the UN announced that it will be holding an emergency one-day session on February 7, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland, with the sole focus on the election of officers, including a new chair.[37]
[1] UN Environment Programme Res. 14, UNEP/EA.5 (March 7, 2022).
[2] Id.
[3] Emma Farge & Olivia Le Poidevin, Plastic pollution treaty stalled as Geneva talks end without deal, Reuters (August 15, 2025, at 12:29 CDT), https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/plastic-pollution-treaty-stalled-geneva-talks-end-without-deal-2025-08-15/ [https://perma.cc/9626-Q3JR].
[4] Emma Bryce et al., UN plastics treaty chair to step down with process in turmoil, The Guardian (October 7, 2025, at 08:07 EDT), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/07/un-plastics-treaty-chair-to-step-down-with-process-in-turmoil [https://perma.cc/3MSN-H8FF].
[5] Cho, Clare Y et al., Cong. Rsch. Serv., R48293, Plastic Pollution and Policy Considerations: Frequently Asked Questions 2 (2025).
[6] Id. at 4.
[7] Plastic Leakage and greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, Orginsation for Economic Co-operation and Development (August 18, 2022), https://www.oecd.org/en/data/insights/data-explainers/2022/08/plastic-leakage-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-are-increasing.html [https://perma.cc/249M-5K6C].
[8] Cho, supra note 5, at pg 6.
[9] Impacts of Plastic Pollution, EPA, https://www.epa.gov/plastics/impacts-plastic-pollution [https://perma.cc/B6JN-QTD2] (last visited November 13, 2025).
[10] Cho, supra note 5, at pg 8.
[11] Irena Wojnowska-Baryla et al., Plastic Waste Degradation in Landfill Conditions: The Problem with Microplastics, and Their Direct and Indirect Environmental Effects, International Journal of Environmental Reasearch and Public Health, Oct. 14, 2022, at 12.
[12] Renee Sharp & Avinash Kar, What You Need to Know About the Plastic Crisis, NRDC (April 9, 2024), https://www.nrdc.org/bio/avinash-kar/what-you-need-know-about-plastic-crisis [https://perma.cc/6P2Y-V6CR].
[13]UN Environment Programme, supra note 1.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Talks on global plastic pollution treaty adjourn without consensus, UN Environment Programme (August 15, 2025), https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/talks-global-plastic-pollution-treaty-adjourn-without-consensus [https://perma.cc/SN5P-J5NN].
[17] Draft rules of procedure for the work of the intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, UNEP/PP/INC.4/2 (January 25, 2024).
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Talks on global plastic pollution treay adjourn without consens, supra note 16.
[21] Press Release: Countries aim to end plastic pollution by 2040, High Ambition Coalition To End Plastic Pollution (August 22, 2022), https://hactoendplasticpollution.org/press-release-countries-aim-to-end-plastic-pollution-by-2040/ [https://perma.cc/VA7A-HWSZ].
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] HAC Member States Ministerial Joint Statement for INC-5, High Ambition Coalition To End Plastic Pollution (September 25, 2024), https://hactoendplasticpollution.org/hac-member-states-ministerial-joint-statement-for-inc-5/ [https://perma.cc/C69C-YXWB].
[25] High Ambition Coalition To End Plastic Pollution, https://hactoendplasticpollution.org [https://perma.cc/WB7Z-M9U2] (last visited November 13, 2025).
[26] Tosca Ballerini, Global Plastics Treaty, Iran Surprisingly Announces New Coalition, Renewable Matter (November 14, 2023, at 12:00), https://www.renewablematter.eu/en/global-plastics-treaty-iran-surprisingly-announces-new-coalition [https://perma.cc/VY43-DQW7].
[27]Joseph Winters, UN Plastics Treaty Talks Once Again End in Failure, Wired (August 16, 2025) https://www.wired.com/story/un-plastics-treaty-talks-once-again-end-in-failure/ [https://perma.cc/F2DM-QM3J].
[28] Id.
[29] Jennifer McDermott, No end in sight to plastic pollution crisis as treaty negotiations in Geneva fail, AP News (August 15, 2025, at 13:51 CST), https://apnews.com/article/plastic-pollution-treaty-negotiations-united-nations-geneva-e73090282a22be7ff5979ea2d648dc10 [https://perma.cc/5456-6P2H].
[30] Id.
[31] Hiroko Tabuchi, Plastic Pollution Talks Collapse as Oil States Oppose Tough Treaty, New York Times (August 15, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/climate/plastic-pollution-treaty-talks-collapse.html [https://perma.cc/3UGD-LNPC].
[32] Fossil Fuel and Petrochemical Lobbyists Overrun Plastics Treaty Negotiations, Center for International Environmental Law (August 7, 2025), https://www.ciel.org/news/inc-5-2-lobbyist-analysis/ [https://perma.cc/C28T-BS3R].
[33] Id.
[34] Id.
[35] Damian Carrington, “Total infiltration”: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks, The Guardian (July 23, 2025, 05:37 EDT), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/23/total-infiltration-how-plastics-industry-swamped-vital-global-treaty-talks [https://perma.cc/9VMY-TNNZ].
[36] Emma Bryce et al., supra note 4.
[37] Third Part of the Fifth Session (INC-5.3), UN Environment Programme, https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-5.3 [https://perma.cc/APT9-9QFL] (last visited November 13, 2025).
