Climate Politics
Nations Fail to Agree Plastic Curbs as Oil Producers Dissent
- Production is forecast to jump about 60% by 2040, OECD says
- Negotiations began in 2022 aimed at limiting material’s impact
The talks, which began in 2022, were aimed at addressing growth in plastic waste, with production forecast to jump about 60% to 736 million tons a year by 2040.
Photographer: Marcelo Perez del Carpio/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Nations failed to agree on a treaty to curb plastic pollution after two years of divisive negotiations, as oil suppliers including Saudi Arabia and Russia blocked attempts to limit production.
Almost 200 countries joined a week-long United Nations-backed summit in Busan, South Korea, which concluded in the early hours of Monday without delivering a legally binding deal to address the material’s future.