Governments are holding "critical" talks this week on a global treaty to curb plastic pollution, as some countries and activists warn that key issues - including measures to rein in soaring plastic production - are being sidelined.Diplomats are meeting in person in Nairobi for the first time since negotiations were suspended in chaos nearly a year ago, stymied by a long-running deadlock that pits petrostates against more ambitious nations over the reach of the UN pact.Because nearly all plastic is made from planet-heating oil, gas and coal, the sector's trajectory will have a major influence on global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.The four-day informal gathering, which begins on Tuesday, has been billed by the chair of the talks, Chilean ambassador Julio Cordano, as a "brainstorming" session in which countries are invited to put forward possible solutions to some of the treaty negotiations' most divisive elements.Cordano is expected to distill those views in a new document intended to serve as the basis for a new draft text of the future treaty, which governments would take up at the next official round of negotiations, scheduled for March 13-24, 2027.
UN plastics treaty talks restart with production curbs in doubt
Diplomats reconvene a year after negotiations collapsed, but campaigners fear the agenda risks burying tricky discussions on key elements
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