For the second year in a row, the world’s major powers failed to agree on a plan to help reduce plastic pollution. Negotiations took place over 11 days at the UN offices in Switzerland. But the 1,400 delegates from the UN’s 193 member countries left talks on Friday without signing off on even a single article of a proposed treaty to address the problems caused by plastics. “Consensus is dead,” Bjorn Beeler declared as the 2025 summit came to a close. He's from the International Pollutants Elimination Network. Leaders argued about a number of points at the summit. Among them was whether limits can or should be placed on a country or company’s ability to produce new plastic. Countries like the US and Saudi Arabia argued against such limits. Both countries are major oil producers. They said that curbing plastic production may threaten their economies. They were joined by advocates from the plastics industry. They argued that more could be done to recycle plastic waste instead. Environmental experts and leaders from other nations disagreed. They noted that more recycling would not be enough. Roughly 400 million tons of new plastic is produced around the world each year. That number is expected to increase 70% by 2040. Right now, less than 10% of plastics are recycled. Roughly 33 billion pounds of plastic pollution wind up in the world’s waterways every year. Much of it flows out into the oceans. A final draft of the treaty did not include many of the limits experts say are needed. It was put before the group. It was rejected. Those who wanted to see more action voted against it. “This is simply repulsive,” a delegate from Panama said in a written statement. “We will not sell out our future generations for a text as weak as this.” Reflect: What are some choices you make in your daily life that affect the environment?
