Talks on a plastics treaty keep going nowhere

This was predictable, these days. Big Plastics is a powerful entity, and like all the Bigs is ethically bereft in every way.

Diplomats from around the world concluded nine days of talks in Geneva — plus a marathon overnight session that lasted into the early hours of (August 15) — with no agreement on a global plastics treaty…

Signs of a logjam were apparent even within the first few days of the talks, however, as countries hewed to the same red lines they’d stuck to during previous negotiations. A so-called “like-minded group” of oil-producing countries said it would not accept legally binding obligations and opposed a wide range of provisions that other nations said were essential, including controls on new plastic production, as well as mandatory disclosures and phaseouts of hazardous chemicals used in plastics. - Grist