The collapse of the latest UN plastic treaty negotiations once again laid bare a fault line in global environmental diplomacy: the clash between countries pushing for plastic production cuts and those defending fossil fuel-linked industries.

 "At one end of the spectrum are the small island states, which are confronted with immense plastic pollution on their coasts and in their seas without contributing significantly to the pollution themselves," said Jochen Flasbarth, Germany's state secretary for the environment. At the other end, he added, are "those countries whose economies are dominated by oil or the raw materials for plastic."

While the failure to reach an agreement was widely anticipated, the sixth round of talks in Geneva revealed how entrenched interests , particularly from oil-producing states and major plastic manufacturers, continue to shape the trajectory of global efforts to curb plastic pollution.

"It is deeply disappointing to see some countries that are trying to block an agreement, a treaty that will give us the instruments needed to tackle plastic pollution, one of the biggest pollution problems we have on Earth," Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke told DW early Friday morning after more than 180 nations failed to reach a deal.  

No agreement on cutting plastic production

Negotiations on a binding UN treaty began in 2022. After three years of talks, securing a decisive commitment to reduce plastic production remained the central sticking point in Geneva.

Roughly 100 nations, including in Africa, Latin America, and the European Union, pushed for deep production cuts, regulation of toxic chemicals and a phase-out of single-use plastics in favor of reusable alternatives.  

But major producers and oil states in the "like-minded" group, including Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, resisted any binding limits. They favored focusing on waste management, leaving production largely untouched.

A revised draft presented Friday morning recognized that current plastic output levels are "unsustainable" and require global action to reverse the trend but stopped short of imposing binding limits.

Such limits were a red line for many countries in the like-minded bloc. Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti negotiators criticized the final proposal for addressing plastic production, which they consider outside the scope of the treaty.

Yet scientists have warned that capping production is essential to curb pollution and protect water, soil, oceans and human health. Marine scientist Melanie Bergmann of the Alfred Wegener Institute argues the world has already exceeded its planetary limits for plastic waste.

Microplastics have been found from the highest mountains to the deepest seas — and in human blood, breast milk, and vital organs — with links to strokes, heart attacks, and other health risks.

Strong presence of fossil fuel and chemical industry

Plastics, 99% of which are derived from fossil fuels, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions at every stage, from production to disposal.

Meeting the Paris Agreement climate goals and limiting planetary heating would require cutting plastic production by at least 12 to 19%, yet just 9% of plastic is recycled. The rest is burned, landfilled, or escapes into the environment.  

Observers noted the fossil fuel and chemical industry's strong presence at negotiations, with their registered lobbyists outnumbering the diplomatic delegations of all 27 European nations and the EU combined, according to analysis from Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL).

Countries were also divided on placing legally binding controls on the chemicals used in plastics, with the high-ambition bloc wanting tighter regulation.  

Some 16,000 chemicals are used in plastics production, with more than 4,000 known to be toxic and most of the rest poorly studied. Advocates had called for tighter controls on hazardous substances, stronger waste management rules, and clear financing commitments, especially for lower-income countries dealing with pollution.  

Path forward for curbing plastic pollution remains unclear

Several states' representatives, including from Norway, Australia and Tuvalu, said they were deeply disappointed to be leaving Geneva without a treaty. Delegations from countries such as Peru, Colombia, and island states like the Maldives and Panama had fought for stricter rules with passionate statements.

Commenting on an earlier draft of the text, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, Panama's climate envoy, said, "We will not sell out our children's future."

Environment secretary Flasbarth said Germany and its EU partners would continue to build bridges and push for further negotiations to reach a global agreement.

Yet the absence of political heavyweights in Geneva also fueled doubts about how committed some in the "high-ambition" group were to the agreement. While several European environment ministers attended, Germany's federal environment minister was notably absent.

Germany, while part of the pro-ambition bloc, is also Europe's biggest plastic producer and home to chemical giants like BASF, Bayer, Merck and Henkel.

Recognizing those competing priorities, some observers stressed the need for cooperation across divergent national and industrial interests.

"There are governments that have very significant economic interests in this industry continuing, and we have to work together to figure out a way to resolve this crisis," said Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation.

The Business Coalition for a Global Plastic Treaty and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation urged governments to continue striving for an agreement on "harmonized regulations across the full lifecycle of plastics."

But it remains unclear whether negotiations toward a UN plastic treaty will resume in their current form. Under existing rules, all countries must agree to adopt any proposal.

Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chair of the UN plastic talks, told AFP that countries and the secretariat "will be working to try to find a date and also a place" for continuing negotiations.

However, David Azoulay, director of environmental health at CIEL, said the negotiation process itself was broken and that high-ambition countries should leave to "form a treaty of the willing."

"The world does not need more plastic. The people know it, doctors know it, scientists know it, and the markets know it. The movement to end plastic pollution goes beyond just the treaty, and it does not end here," Azoulay added. 

Edited by: Jennifer Collins