UN talks on a landmark treaty to combat plastic pollution have been extended into Friday after a draft agreement was rejected from across the negotiating spectrum, leaving the process at risk of collapse.
Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso told delegates from 185 countries on Thursday evening that "consultations of my revised draft text are still ongoing" and adjourned the plenary until August 15.
Negotiations, ongoing since August 5, aim to conclude the first global agreement to address plastic pollution.
After three years and five previous failed rounds, the latest draft attempted to reflect limited areas of convergence.
Instead, it drew widespread criticism.
The "High Ambition Coalition," made up of states seeking strong measures, said the text lacked commitments to curb production, phase out toxic ingredients and set binding global targets — reducing it, in their view, to a waste management deal.
The "Like-Minded Group," led by Gulf oil-producing states, said the draft crossed too many red lines and did not narrow the treaty’s scope enough.
Panama called the document "simply repulsive" and "surrender," while Kenya said it had been "significantly diluted and lost its very objective."
The European Union, small island developing states, and regional blocs from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean held separate meetings to coordinate positions.
Analysts warned the talks face two scenarios: a weak treaty resembling the current draft or no agreement at all, potentially leaving the process in limbo.
Aleksandar Rankovic of The Common Initiative think-tank said, "The bad scenario is that countries adopt a very bad treaty... The very bad is that they don't agree on anything."
The World Wide Fund for Nature urged ministers from ambitious countries to propose a new text with binding global bans and phase-outs for harmful chemicals, and a mechanism for strengthening commitments over time.
"They must then be prepared to vote their text through," said WWF’s Zaynab Sadan.
Plastic waste is a growing global crisis, with production projected to almost triple between 2019 and 2060.
Microplastics have been found from the highest peaks to the deepest ocean trenches, and inside the human body.
