Plastic Pollution Treaty Talks Stall Amid Oil Producers’ Opposition

AFP/APP

Geneva: Negotiations on a global treaty to curb plastic pollution have hit a deadlock, with oil-producing countries resisting production limits and talks descending into what diplomats describe as a “dialogue of the deaf.”

The 10-day session, billed as the final push to agree on a legally binding accord, began Tuesday with optimism from organisers. But by Thursday, after nations laid out their positions, negotiating sources said the mood had soured.

“We are in a dialogue of the deaf, with very few landing zones I don’t see progress,” said a diplomat from a coalition backing strong production-reduction targets. “We have lots of points of disagreement; we’re not quibbling about one problem.”

Oil Producers Resist Targets

The “Like-Minded Countries” group — including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and the Arab states bloc — opposes binding limits on plastic production. They want the treaty to focus on waste management rather than the full life cycle of plastics, despite the original UN mandate covering production, use, and disposal.

An NGO observer said positions were “crystallising” rather than converging. The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) accused the LMC group of refusing to compromise. “That’s not a negotiation; that’s a hostage situation,” CIEL spokeswoman Cate Bonacini told AFP.

Some participants have even questioned whether the agreement should be about plastics at all, raising fears among proponents that the process could collapse entirely.

Health Risks Highlighted

A key sticking point is whether to include a list of hazardous chemicals in plastics, opposed by the chemical industry. The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged that the treaty contain enforceable health protections.

“Plastic pollution poses significant and growing risks to human health,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, noting the disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities and workers exposed to toxic substances.

WHO environment chief Rudiger Krech said research is uncovering new dangers, including nano-plastics detected in human brains and linked to multiple diseases. “Twenty years ago we didn’t know how dangerous it can be,” he said.

The talks in Geneva — a resumed session of the fifth round that ended without agreement in Busan, South Korea, last year — involve 184 nations and are set to run until next week.