Countries race for late breakthrough in deadlocked plastic pollution talks

By Olivia Le Poidevin and Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) -Talks to create the world’s first legally binding treaty to tackle plastic pollution are at risk of ending without a deal as countries race to find a potential compromise on the final day of negotiations in Geneva.

Talks headed into their final hours on Thursday after countries who want an ambitious plastics treaty threw out the text proposed on Wednesday.

States pushing for a comprehensive treaty, including Panama, Kenya, France and Britain, shared frustration that key articles on the full life cycle of plastic pollution from the production of polymers to the disposal of waste, as well as the harm to health, had been removed entirely from the text.

Oil-producing nations are against curbs on the production of virgin plastics derive