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Deadlock at INC-5.2: Understanding the blocked progress of the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations
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The Global Plastics Treaty negotiations at INC-5.2 in 2025 collapsed due to a fundamental split between nations favoring upstream plastic production caps and oil-producing states limiting discussion to downstream waste management. This governance failure has profound implications for microplastic pollution, as without production limits, plastic fragmentation into the environment will continue accelerating.
Abstract The inability of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to reach agreement on a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty at INC-5.2 in August 2025 reflects deep geopolitical and economic divisions that limit international environmental governance. While most countries in the High-Ambition Coalition supported upstream interventions, including capping plastic production and phasing out hazardous chemical additives, oil-producing states (members of the Like-Minded group) pushed to limit the treaty to waste management and recycling (downstream measures). This deadlock carries profound implications: escalating plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, impacting the trust in multilateral institutions that rely on consensus and the growing influence of petrochemical lobbies. Moving forward may require reforming negotiation procedures that do not rely on consensus, making evidence-based policymaking a priority, supporting equity and just transition principles and leveraging regional leadership and civil society mobilisation. Despite the current stalemate, the urgency of the plastics crisis underscores the necessity of renewed global commitment to an ambitious and equitable Global Plastics Treaty.
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Process without progress: the sixth session of negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution (INC-5.2)
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In August 2025, countries met in Geneva to try to finalize a global treaty limiting plastic pollution, but talks stalled without an agreement due to disagreements over key issues like limiting plastic production and regulating harmful chemical additives. This matters because plastics—and the microplastics and chemicals they shed—are found in our food, water, and even our bodies, and without binding international rules, the flow of plastic pollution (and the health risks that come with it) will likely keep growing unchecked.
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This analysis of the UN INC-5.2 global plastic treaty negotiations found that developing state delegations averaged only half the size of Western European delegations, while over 230 industry representatives exerted influence through official and side event participation. The authors argue that simultaneously occurring negotiation formats disadvantaged smaller delegations, creating procedural injustice that falls under the responsibility of the INC Secretariat.
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