United Nations negotiations to craft the world’s first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution collapsed in Geneva on 15 August after delegates from 185 countries failed to bridge deep divisions over whether the pact should cap production of new plastics. The talks, originally scheduled to end a day earlier, were adjourned after an overnight session produced no consensus and the chair, Ecuador’s Luis Vayas Valdivieso, conceded that a new date will be needed to resume work. A revised draft circulated before dawn dropped proposed limits on virgin polymer output and left key provisions in brackets, prompting immediate rejection from scores of states. Norway told the plenary “we will not have a treaty to end plastic pollution here,” while several African, Pacific and European nations lamented that a minority of oil-producing countries, backed by the United States, blocked any commitment to curb production or restrict hazardous additives. The European Union, small-island states and more than 100 other governments had pressed for lifecycle controls, arguing that managing waste alone cannot counter projected growth in plastics. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other petrochemical exporters insisted the accord focus on recycling and waste management, reviving procedural disputes over whether future decisions should be taken by consensus or majority vote. Delegates reported more than 1,000 outstanding points of contention in the draft text. Frustration was palpable. France’s ecology minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said she was “disappointed and angry,” calling the process “chaotic,” while UN Environment Programme chief Inger Andersen urged governments to “keep the ambition alive.” Environmental groups, some of which staged high-profile protests outside the UN compound, said rejecting a weak deal was preferable to endorsing one that lacked production limits. Scientists warn that annual plastic output—estimated at about 430 million tonnes—could almost triple by 2060 without new curbs, worsening ocean pollution and human-health risks. The World Wildlife Fund says each month of delay adds nearly one million tonnes of waste to global stocks. With no timeline set for reconvening, diplomats face mounting pressure to salvage the process ahead of a self-imposed 2026 deadline. Several delegations are openly questioning the UN’s consensus rule and hint that a smaller coalition could proceed on its own if the stalemate persists.