Overview

• A ten-day UN session in Geneva ended without consensus on a legally binding plastics treaty as last-minute compromise texts failed to win approval.
• Delegations split between a high ambition coalition of about 120 countries seeking full lifecycle controls and production limits and a smaller bloc led by oil-producing states focused solely on waste management.
• Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso circulated two revised draft texts overnight on August 14–15 but unresolved substantive differences blocked consensus under the UN’s decision-by-consent rule.
• France’s environment minister accused a handful of countries, including oil producers and the United States, of coordinated obstruction, while the EU’s environment commissioner said Geneva narrowed differences for future talks.
• Uganda formally requested a new negotiation session and several parties signaled willingness to resume discussions, though the timing and venue for the next round remain undecided.