Press Release, 03. February 2026

Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations: Success is still possible

Plastic pollution is causing severe problems worldwide. However, negotiations at the United Nations in Geneva last August did not result in the expected global plastics treaty. On 7 February 2026, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution will reconvene in Geneva to elect a new chairperson. In order to secure an agreement, the new chairperson must urgently reform INC procedures, argue Dr Paul Einhäupl, Linda Del Savio (Research Institute for Sustainability), Dr Melanie Bergmann (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research) and Prof Annika Jahnke (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research) in a recent Nature Comment.

Their analysis reveals significant structural issues that are driving disagreement and hindering progress in negotiations for a legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The authors express concern that the current negotiation process lacks prioritization of issues, sequential debate and decision-making and clear procedural rules, jeopardizing efforts to address the escalating plastics crisis.

The analysis highlights how the INC's broad mandate – addressing the "full life cycle of plastic" – has led to fragmented debates and delayed progress. Differing interpretations of key issues, such as whether the treaty should cover plastic production, chemicals and products of concern and health aspects, contribute to ongoing, repetitive debates.

Lead author Dr Paul Einhäupl (RIFS) says: "Addressing the full life cycle of plastics makes negotiations for a global plastics treaty particularly difficult, highlighting the deep interconnectedness of contemporary environmental and societal issues. However, the negotiations also present a rare opportunity to address these interlinked issues more coherently and effectively at the multilateral level."

Author Linda Del Savio (RIFS) adds: "A global response to addressing marine plastic pollution requires that the full life cycle of plastics is considered. Such an approach includes the production, transport, and use of plastics, in addition to sound waste management and recycling."

Author Dr Melanie Bergmann (AWI) adds: "Separating negotiations on key issues such as capping plastic production and financing waste management makes it easy to pit traditional donor and recipient countries against each other. But the two issues are interlinked: The more plastics produced, the more infrastructure is needed. This has been used to increase division rather than bring the parties' positions closer together towards an agreement."

Author Prof Annika Jahnke (UFZ) adds: "Plastics accumulate globally in a poorly reversible way, releasing microplastics and chemicals over time. Most will persist for many years, contributing to the three planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Consistent with the precautionary principle, it is key to regulate plastics holistically, largely cutting human exposure during use and emissions to the environment."

The authors propose three key changes to revive the negotiations:

Prioritization and sequencing: Decide on the most important issues and set priorities through heads of delegation meetings to facilitate the decision-making process along goals and milestones rather than a set timeline.

Procedural clarity: Implement clear procedural rules to avoid diversion, including guidelines for drafting, documenting agreements from informal sessions, and resolving disagreement.

Majority fallback voting: Strengthen options to achieve consensus by introducing a mechanism for majority rule voting in specific circumstances and rules, such as when broad support for a policy emerges but a minority blocks progress.

The authors warn that failure to address the flaws of the current procedures could undermine international cooperation on plastic pollution and multilateralism in general and weaken efforts to tackle interconnected planetary crises, including climate change and biodiversity loss.

Publication:
Einhäupl, Paul; Del Savio, Linda; Bergmann, Melanie; Jahnke, Annika (2026); A global plastics treaty can become reality — here’s how to break the deadlock; Nature, Vol 650, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00314-4

Further information:
Interview with Melanie Bergmann and Annika Jahnke at the conclusion of the conference in Geneva 2025: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=36336&webc_pm=31/2025

Further information

Prof Dr Annika Jahnke
Head of UFZ Department of Exposure Science
annika.jahnke@ufz.de

UFZ press office

Susanne Hufe
Phone: +49 341 6025-1630
presse@ufz.de