Delegates from 184 countries met in Geneva Tuesday to resume negotiations in the last scheduled opportunity to halt the escalating plastic pollution crisis through a legally binding global agreement.

Negotiations for the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution started three-and-a-half years ago but reached an impasse , primarily over whether to limit plastic production, during what was supposed to be the final talks last November.

Most countries, led by the Global South, want to limit plastic production. But fossil fuel-producing nations and the petrochemical industry favor managing waste instead.

Plastic production doubled between 2000 and 2019 and is expected to triple from today’s levels by 2060 .

• ICN Weekly Saturdays Our #1 newsletter delivers the week’s

See Full Page