The UN has expressed “regret” after a sixth international summit failed to produce a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution.
Delegates from 179 countries met in Geneva from 5 to 14 August to try to thrash out an agreement on the pressing environmental issue.
Talks had begun in Uruguay in 2022 and moved through France, Kenya, Canada and Korea before washing up in Switzerland this month.
UN secretary-general António Guterres said: “I deeply regret that, despite earnest efforts, negotiations to reach an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, concluded without achieving a consensus.”
He added: “I welcome the determination of member states in continuing to work to beat plastic pollution and keep engaged in the process, united in purpose, to deliver the treaty the world needs to tackle this monumental challenge to people and the environment.”
Alice Rackley, chief executive of waste-tracking technology firm Polytag, bemoaned a “massive data gap”.
“As a result, plastic is routinely downcycled, exported, burned or dumped, fuelling the environmental crisis we see today,” she added.
“Countries are now left to decide for themselves how seriously they’ll take the problem. This is not a global response, but rather a global shrug.”
