Overview
- Delegates from nearly 180 countries will convene in Geneva starting August 5 to resume negotiations on the first legally binding global plastics treaty after talks in Busan failed to resolve core issues.
- Negotiators remain split between an oil-producing bloc focused on waste management and recycling and a High Ambition Coalition advocating production caps and a full lifecycle approach.
- Advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have introduced a legal framework tying state responsibility to both climate impacts and human rights in the plastics debate.
- UNEP projects a 50% surge in plastic waste in soils and waterways by 2040, while studies document microplastics in remote environments and throughout the human body, underscoring urgent health and ecological risks.
- Resolving disputes over financing mechanisms, technology transfer and treaty form is essential for negotiators to deliver a comprehensive agreement during this 10-day conference.