Negotiators from 184 countries remained riven Wednesday on how to curb plastic pollution, less than 36 hours before they were slated to deliver a binding global treaty.
Diplomats are "at the edge of a cliff," one official observer told AFP.
Dozens of ministers have arrived in Geneva to try to break the deadlock as the 10-day talks hurtle towards a close, but widely divergent positions have made the search for a so-called landing zone "very difficult", according to Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke.
A new draft of the treaty text, streamlined by the talks chair, is expected later Wednesday, several sources told AFP. A plenary meeting to take stock of where things stand is scheduled for 7:00 pm (1700 GMT).
The debate continues to pit the so-called "Like-Minded Group" of chiefly