5 takeaways from the global negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The world’s nations finished a round of negotiations early Tuesday on a treaty to end plastic pollution and made more progress than they have in three prior meetings.

Coming into Ottawa, many feared the effort would stall to craft the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans. The last meeting was marred by disagreements and there was much left to do.

But instead, there has been a “monumental change in the tone and in the energy,” said Julie Dabrusin, a Canadian parliamentary secretary.

It was the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution session. For the first time, the nations began negotiating over the text of what is supposed to become a global treaty. They agreed to keep working between now and the next and final committee meeting this fall in South Korea.