Plastic treaty chair says deal possible in March after Bangkok informal talks

Centre · 1Julio Cordano, the Chilean ambassador chairing negotiations on a world-first plastic pollution treaty, told AFP on 1 October in Bangkok that countries are less divided than before and a deal could be agreed in March. 1 Centre · 1Cordano said he expects to adopt the treaty at the next official round, INC 5.4 in March, if the right steps are followed, progress is consistent and his roadmap is completed. 1 Mixed · 2Cordano took over the chair earlier this year after his predecessor resigned; talks began in 2022 with a two-year timeline and have overrun it by more than a year. 1 2

Mixed · 2Talks in South Korea in 2024 fell apart and a renewed effort in Geneva in 2025 made no progress; negotiations then resumed this year as informal talks restricted to member state representatives. 1 2 Centre · 1A majority of nations want ambitious, legally binding limits on plastic production, which is expected to triple by 2060, while a smaller bloc of mostly oil-producing states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia, wants a narrower focus on waste management. 1 Centre · 1Before the Bangkok meetings Cordano released a non-binding "aid to negotiations" with brackets around contentious items such as a production cap, mention of human health, and designating problematic plastic products or chemicals of concern; he plans a new version next month, before a last informal round in January. 1

Centre · 1Cordano said positions are closer than binary and that the mandate embeds "different pathways or different departure points"; AFP's sources said some countries increasingly back a text offering options, with ambitious countries choosing to limit production or products and others not. 1 Mixed · 2Decision-making rules remain a serious dispute: some countries want consensus on everything, which opponents say lets a small minority block progress, and Cordano acknowledged concerns about a consensus rule while saying he wants a treaty "accepted by everyone". 1 2 Left · 1Inside Climate News reported that environmental advocates said more than 70 developing countries back addressing all causes and drivers of plastic pollution, and that countries making up over a quarter of global plastics demand support strong measures, according to Giulia Carlini of the Center for International Environmental Law; the outlet said this is unlikely to be enough to prevail over the fossil-fuel-producing "like-minded group". 2

Left · 1Advocates, including Greenpeace's Jacob Kean-Hammerson, argue that market shocks from the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, including polyethylene and naphtha shortages and price rises, show the vulnerability of fossil-based plastics supply chains and strengthen the case for a treaty. 2 Left · 1Scientists and observers criticise the closed format: Martin Wagner of the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty and Kean-Hammerson said excluding observers lacks scientific scrutiny and violates UN precedents, while Cordano said observers were invited to submit written views, he holds regular webinars, and the informal meetings are "not decision-making meetings". 2