Chaos, confusion cloud final stretch of global plastics treaty talks | Pinakabagong Balita sa Pilipinas

Chaos, confusion cloud final stretch of global plastics treaty talks — PLASTIC trash composite image from Inquirer files PLASTIC trash composite image from Inquirer files MANILA, Philippines—A day meant to mark a turning ...

PLASTIC trash composite image from Inquirer files

PLASTIC trash composite image from Inquirer files

MANILA, Philippines—A day meant to mark a turning point in the global fight against plastic pollution instead ended in confusion and dismay, as countries were left in the dark over the future of a long-awaited international plastics treaty.

On Thursday (August 14), what was supposed to be the final plenary session of the United Nations-led negotiations—formally known as the second part of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting (INC-5.2)—was abruptly adjourned after less than a minute, without any formal discussion, debate, or closure.

“With consultations of my revised draft text still ongoing, this plenary is therefore adjourned, to be convened on August 15, 2025,” said Ecuadorian diplomat and INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso, before quickly bringing down the gavel.

Delegates from 185 countries, many who had waited for hours in the crowded Palais des Nations in Geneva, were left stunned. “It’s such a mess. I’ve never seen that,” said a negotiator quoted by international media. “It smells like no deal.”

READ:Backlash builds as new plastics treaty draft drops key protections

The bizarre anticlimax followed days of intense backroom meetings and a flurry of informal huddles between negotiating blocs. But with no revised text on the table and no clarity about the path forward, observers and country representatives alike said the talks had descended into a “complete haze.”

For civil society groups and Global South delegates, the drama of the final plenary only deepened their disillusionment.

“If this does not make crystal clear that this treaty process is broken, what will?” said Merrisa Naidoo, Plastics Program Manager at the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Africa.

READ: Geneva showdown: High-stakes Global Plastics Treaty talks could shape PH future

“The Chair’s disrespect and disregard for civil society and many Member State delegations, who were forced to wait for hours just to be abruptly dismissed in a matter of seconds, is not just an insult—it is a strategy to exhaust ambitious Member States into submission.”

“All day, the Chair met with a select and unnamed group of countries to hash out the way forward, while leaving civil society and the rest of the country delegations in the dark,” she added. “This is not democracy. This is dysfunction.”

A revised draft was finally released early Friday—but it did little to assuage growing fears of a hollow agreement.

“It is deeply concerning how off the mark this latest text is,” said Zaynab Sadan, Global Plastics Policy Lead at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

“How inadequate it would be in ending the plastic crisis… and how, once again, it ignores the pleas of so many people around the world suffering from the effects of plastic pollution,” added Sadan.

She described the document as “so compromised, so inconsequential it cannot hope to tackle the crisis in any meaningful way.”

READ:Time running out: SE Asia presses for ambitious plastics pact

Graphics by Ed Lustan/Inquirer.net

WWF noted that the revised text omits binding global rules for essential provisions such as product design standards, bans on toxic additives, and mechanisms for decision-making, rendering the treaty unenforceable.

“Without a full package of mutually reinforcing measures, this ill-equipped draft text only sets countries up to fail in their fight against this worsening crisis,” Sadan warned.

Eirik Lindebjerg, WWF’s Global Plastics Policy Adviser, criticized the Chair’s approach as “crippled.” He said that efforts to achieve consensus at all costs had gutted the treaty of ambition.

“No treaty will ever be weak enough to satisfy low ambition countries,” he said. “The ambitious majority must use this opportunity to come together and pursue the essential measures.”

On August 14, a press briefing organized by GAIA brought together civil society organizations and Global South delegates, who condemned the Chair’s draft for erasing key provisions—including language on reducing plastic production and protecting public health—despite strong international support for those measures.

“The last iteration of the text, which came out yesterday, we know is a serious regression from the UNEA Mandate 5/14 given to us as governments,” said Dr. Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary of Fiji’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. “We all agreed at UNEA 5 that we would address the full lifecycle of plastic.”

“There are many metaphors that we use, but one is that we can’t continue mopping the floor without turning the tap,” he said. “We need legally binding global measures to control production.”

READ:Global plastics treaty in peril after key talks deadlock

Hiwot Hailu, Chief of Staff of Ethiopia’s Environmental Protection Authority, meanwhile, emphasized the vital role of public pressure in keeping ambition on the table.

“We need civil society to continue to be a partner, providing pressure from the outside to ensure negotiations don’t lose sight of our shared goals, and to continue advocacy for a legally binding plastic treaty that protects people and our planet,” she said.

Experts warn that if no deal is reached—or if the final agreement is stripped of ambition—the consequences will be dire. Plastic production is projected to triple by 2060, with most of the burden falling on countries least equipped to handle it.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as the Philippines consume less plastic per capita but bear far greater costs—about US$150 per kilo of plastic, compared to just US$19 in high-income countries. They also account for 93 percent of recorded deaths linked to plastic production.

Graphics by Ed Lustan/Inquirer.net

The Philippines has aligned itself with the high-ambition camp. In June, it signed the Nice Call for an Ambitious Treaty on Plastic Pollution, joining 94 other countries in supporting global production caps, phase-outs of problematic plastics and chemicals, and better product design.

At home, public support is just as clear. In a 19-country Greenpeace survey, Filipinos ranked among the strongest supporters of bold action:

The urgency is also visible on the ground. In July, heavy rains and floods swept through Metro Manila, bringing with them more than 600 tons of garbage. Environmental groups issued a stark warning:

“Floods are the symptom. The plastic crisis is part of the disease.”

Naidoo stressed that a flawed process cannot deliver good outcomes.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to theTerms of Useand acknowledge that I have read thePrivacy Policy.

“Consensus is not democracy. It ignores the will of the vast majority of member states and, unfortunately, has to cater to the wish list of the petro-states and fossil fuel industry.”

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to theTerms of Useand acknowledge that I have read thePrivacy Policy.