Global Plastic Treaty Talks End in Deadlock at Geneva
Why in the news
Negotiators in Geneva failed again to agree a legally binding global plastics treaty, leaving the process deadlocked for the second time in eight months.
Key facts
- Venue and round: INC-5.2, Geneva, Switzerland, August 2025, organised under UNEP.
- Earlier round: INC-5.1 in Busan, Republic of Korea, in November-December 2024.
- The High-Ambition Coalition (Norway, EU, UK and others) pushed for production cuts, chemical limits and health safeguards.
- The Like-Minded Group (including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia, backed by China and India) resisted caps on polymer production.
- Disputes covered scope, ambition level and legally binding rules, with no agreement on regulating the full plastics life cycle.
About the plastics treaty process
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee was set up by UN Environment Assembly resolution 5/14 in March 2022 to draft an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, covering the full life cycle of plastics from production and design to disposal.
Exam angle
- Remember the order: INC-5.1 Busan, then INC-5.2 Geneva.
- The mandate source is UNEA resolution 5/14 (2022).
- India sits with the group opposing production caps.