Plastic Treaty Talks Disappoint Those Pushing for Production Cap

The penultimate round of United Nations talks toward a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution ended in disappointment for countries and environmental groups pushing for limits on production.

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution concluded a week-long meeting in Ottawa in the early hours of Tuesday morning. While negotiators celebrated signs of progress toward an agreement, advocates expressed dismay that meetings planned for the coming months will not address the creation of new plastic.

Those meetings will take place ahead of the fifth and final session of talks in Busan, South Korea, in late November, before an end-of-year deadline ...