Global plastic treaty talks end in failure as countries remain bitterly divided over how to tackle the crisis

Talks to finalize the world’s first treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, Switzerland collapsed in failure Friday as countries remained bitterly divided how to tackle the crisis.

The summit, held at the United Nations headquarters and attended by delegates from more than 180 countries, was supposed to end Thursday after 10 days of contentious talks, but slipped into overtime as nations were unable to break their deadlock.

More than 100 countries had called for legally binding caps on plastic production. Many also demanded action to tackle toxic chemicals in plastics.

But powerful oil and gas producing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia pushed back strongly arguing the treaty should focus more on recycling, reuse and redesign than production caps or a phase-out of chemicals.