Delegates from roughly 180 nations opened a ten-day session at the United Nations in Geneva on 5 August, seeking to conclude the world’s first legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution. The meeting is the sixth round of negotiations since 2022 and is widely viewed by diplomats as a last chance to agree a text before a year-end deadline. The European Union, many Latin American countries and the Alliance of Small Island States want the accord to cap production of virgin plastic, restrict hazardous additives and create a financing facility for developing economies. Oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, backed by the United States, are pressing instead for voluntary measures focused on recycling and waste management. Consensus is required for any provision to be adopted, raising fears that the talks could end in a watered-down deal or deadlock. Scientific evidence submitted ahead of the meeting underscored the stakes. The OECD projects that annual plastic output could triple by 2060 without new policies, while a Lancet commission estimated health-related economic losses from plastics at more than US$1.5 trillion a year. A separate study found brain tissue collected in 2024 contained 50% more microplastics than samples from 2016, adding to concerns about the material’s impact ‘at every stage of life’. Plastic production has already risen from 2 Mt in 1950 to 475 Mt in 2022 and is on track for 1,200 Mt by mid-century. More than 1,000 negotiators, industry lobbyists and civil-society observers are accredited for the session, which runs to 14 August. Diplomats say that if consensus proves impossible, options include postponing a decision or exploring a break-away agreement among willing states. UN Environment Programme chief Inger Andersen urged delegates to deliver a pact with “teeth” rather than a nominal compromise.