UN committee agrees to draft legally binding global treaty to curb plastic pollution

Around 170 countries agreed to develop a first draft by November of what could become the first global treaty to curb plastic pollution by the end of next year.
Global negotiators have agreed to create a draft treaty to end plastic pollution.
The committee is charged with developing the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, on land and at sea.
A coalition of “high-ambition” governments led by Norway and Rwanda, along with environmental groups, want to end plastic pollution altogether by 2040 by slashing production and limiting some chemicals used in making plastics.
Countries with big petroleum industries like the U.S., China and Saudi Arabia are focusing instead on plastic recycling, and want country-by-country rules instead of across-the-board limits.