Why the global plastics talks collapsed — and what’s next

One significant sticking point: the refusal of plastic-producing nations, including the U.S., to agree to production limits.

Government negotiators failed to agree on a global treaty governing plastics after oil-producing countries balked at production limits and chemical phaseout timelines. 

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee that has shepherded the process through six meetings since March 2022 is promising to try again, but no date was set for future talks. First, it is up to the United Nations to identify a host country.

The failure to create a global treaty leaves businesses — both plastics producers and companies heavily dependent on the material — to face an emerging mosaic of national and subnational regulations aimed at addressing the life cycle of the more than 460 million tons of plastic produced annually.

The cumulative cost of the attendant fees is estimated to more than double between 2026 and 2040, surpassing $576 billion. That compares with approximately $279 billion under a global treaty, according to the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF.

Why the global plastics talks collapsed, and what’s next

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