By Abbas Nazil
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen has insisted that a global treaty to combat plastic pollution remains achievable despite major setbacks, resignations, and repeated breakdowns in negotiations.
In an exclusive interview with AFP, Andersen emphasized that all countries remain committed to the process even though discussions have twice collapsed without agreement and the chair of the talks, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, recently resigned.
Andersen said nations are still at the negotiating table, with none abandoning the effort to tackle the plastic crisis that continues to worsen across the globe.
“We left with greater clarity. And no-one has left the table,” she said, expressing optimism that an agreement is still “totally doable.”
The treaty negotiations, launched in 2022 under UNEP’s guidance, aim to establish a legally binding framework to curb plastic pollution that has reached every corner of the planet—from mountain peaks to ocean trenches and even human organs.
More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced annually, half for single-use purposes.
Only 9% of this waste is recycled, while nearly half ends up in landfills and 22% becomes litter.
As global plastic production is projected to triple by 2060, environmental experts warn that time is running out for decisive global action.
The talks have exposed sharp divisions between countries seeking to limit plastic production and oil-producing nations that prefer focusing on waste management.
Following the failed negotiation rounds in South Korea and Geneva, Andersen stressed that the spirit of cooperation persists, saying nations have developed a clearer understanding of one another’s “red lines.”
However, the process suffered another blow with Valdivieso’s resignation as chair after his draft treaty text was strongly criticized by delegates.
A report by *The Guardian* alleged UNEP staff held a covert meeting to pressure Valdivieso to step down, a claim Andersen firmly denied and referred to the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services for investigation.
Andersen, who has led UNEP since 2019, reaffirmed her commitment to transparency and to achieving the treaty, saying that the world’s plastic crisis demands persistence, not retreat.
“As always, when there’s change, there is a degree of a different mood,” she said, expressing hope that new leadership might help reinvigorate the stalled talks ahead of future meetings at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi.
