The meeting was the last stage in a two-year process, after more than 170 nations in March 2022 backed a historic UN resolution to end plastic pollution.

Although the latest talks have ended without a final agreement, countries have pledged to continue talking — and that is no small achievement.

Negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution have concluded in Busan, South Korea without reaching an agreement. This was supposed to be the fifth and final round to produce the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution,

After two years of dedicated negotiations, world leaders could not agree on a global plastics treaty to counter plastic pollution's escalating environmental, economic, and health threats.

Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic. Plastic production could climb about 70% by 2040 without policy changes.

A summit many hoped would yield a landmark treaty to tackle a global plastic pollution crisis ended in disappointment after oil- and gas-producing countries pushed back on limiting production

Negotiations in South Korea for a global treaty on plastic waste stalemated over limits on plastic production and the elimination of harmful chemicals.

The negotiations in Busan, South Korea, were supposed to be the fifth and final round to produce the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024.

Oil-producing countries were reportedly the key obstacle to finding common ground at the gathering in South Korea.

United Nations-backed talks for a global treaty to end plastic pollution wrapped up without an agreement in the early hours of Sunday 1. A new round of talks is expected in mid-2025. Negotiations foundered