We all agree there’s a plastic crisis. So why did the Global Plastics Treaty stall out?

In 2022, the U.N. General Assembly voted to develop a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution by 2024. But crafting that treaty hasn’t been easy, with countries butting heads on key issues including curbs on plastic production, changes of the chemistry of plastics and the role of waste management. What was planned to be the final session of negotiations recently ended in Busan, Korea with only a “Chair’s Text”—a very rough draft to guide delegates when negotiations resume, presumably in mid-2025.

Maria Ivanova directs the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University and has been a delegate or observer at the treaty negotiations since they began. 

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