Global Plastic Treaty Negotiations Continue Despite Challenges

The second round of UN talks for a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution ended with a mandate to draft the text, but was marred by delays, protests, and geopolitical tensions. Oil-rich countries including Saudi Arabia and Brazil led a prolonged debate over voting rules and points of procedure, causing a "manufactured deadlock" that took precious time away from more substantive discussions on the treaty. The High Ambition Coalition, which is pushing to "end plastic pollution by 2040," and NGOs were relieved that the broad strokes of a plastics treaty will be drafted, but the core substantive issues remain unsettled.