UN Plastic Negotiations Teeter on Brink of Collapse as Deadline Looms

French Energy Minister Olga Givernet, speaking to a packed room of journalists and delegates at a pivotal global summit on plastic pollution, expressed clear frustration over ongoing resistance to progress in talks. “We are worried by the continuing obstruction by the so-called like-minded countries,” she said. “It may be a minority, but we must rally as much as we can to push [the talks] forward.”

Joining her in emphasizing urgency was Anthony Agotha, the EU’s Special Envoy for Climate and Environment Diplomacy. “While we remain deeply concerned about the outcome in these final hours, there’s a strong energy in this room,” he remarked. “The European Union will persevere until the very end to secure [the treaty], but it has to be meaningful.”

The impassioned remarks energized allied delegates and civil society groups watching on. However, optimism waned when a new draft treaty text emerged, dampening hopes for an ambitious deal. Criticism poured in almost immediately, with Senegal’s representative, Cheikh Ndiaye Sylla, rejecting the proposal outright. “This version of the text is … not acceptable,” he declared in a follow-up press conference. “We have to negotiate this from the polymer, meaning the production. No text is better than a bad text.”

The draft text, according to sources, includes numerous bracketed sections and softened language on critical issues, such as reducing plastic production, phasing out harmful plastic products and chemicals, and securing financing for the treaty. These areas have been core sticking points throughout the negotiations.

Three members of the high-ambition coalition—speaking anonymously due to the confidential nature of the talks—confirmed that Saudi Arabia has emerged as a central player in opposing measures affecting plastic production. Leading the “like-minded coalition,” a bloc of oil-rich and plastic-producing nations, Saudi Arabia has faced repeated accusations of obstructing progress since last year.

As the negotiations head toward their conclusion, the rift between countries pushing for ambitious action and those resisting change underscores the daunting task of reaching a global agreement to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.