No end in sight to plastic pollution crisis as treaty negotiations in Geneva fail

GENEVA (AP) — Negotiations to reach a major treaty to end growing plastic pollution around the world fell apart on Friday, with delegates in Switzerland adjourning with no immediate plans to resume.

The consequence of the failed talks is devastating, as it leaves no clear path for nations to collectively address the mountains of plastic that are filling landfills, clogging oceans and showing up in chunks on beaches and other public places.

“Consensus is dead,” Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator for the International Pollutants Elimination Network, upon adjournment.

Every year, the world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic, and that could grow by about 70% by 2040 without policy changes. About 100 countries want to limit production. Many have said it’s also essential to address toxic chemicals used to make plastics.

The final decision, or lack there of, underscored the influence of the United States and other oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, which opposed any limit on the productions of plastics, made mostly from fuels like oil and gas.

Nations had worked for 11 days at the United Nations office in Geneva. But they were deadlocked over whether the treaty should reduce exponential growth of plastic production and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics.

Environmentalists, waste pickers and Indigenous leaders and many business executives traveled to the talks to make their voices heard. Indigenous leaders sought a treaty that recognizes their rights and knowledge.

The Youth Plastic Action Network was the only organization that spoke at the closing meeting Friday. Comments from observers were cut off at the request of the U.S. and Kuwait after 24 hours of meetings and negotiating.

After the adjournment, some delegates tried to put a good face on the negotiations and expressed hope for future talks. Delegates did agree they would meet again at some point in the future.

Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said despite challenges, despite the disappointment, “we have to accept that significant progress was made.”

This process won’t stop, she said, but it’s too soon to say how long it will take to get a treaty now.

The negotiations were supposed to be the last round and produce the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans. But just like at the meeting in South Korea last year, the talks ended with no agreement.

Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee, wrote and presented two drafts of treaty text in Geneva based on the views expressed by the nations. The representatives from 184 countries did not agree to use either one as the basis for their negotiations.

Valdivieso said Friday morning as the delegates reconvened in the assembly hall that no further action was being proposed at this stage on the latest draft.

After a three-hour meeting, he banged a gavel made of recycled plastic bottle tops from a Nairobi landfill, one of many symbols of the plastic problem that were visible during the talks.

European Commissioner Jessika Roswall said the European Union and its member states had higher expectations for this meeting and while the draft falls short on their demands, it’s a good basis for another negotiating session.

“The Earth is not ours only. We are stewards for those who come after us. Let us fulfill that duty,” she said.

Representatives of Norway, Australia, Tuvalu and others nations said they were “deeply disappointed” to be leaving Geneva without a treaty. Madagascar's representative said the world is “expecting action, not reports from us.”

China's delegation said the fight against plastic pollution is a long marathon and that this temporary setback is a new starting point to forge consensus.

For their part, representatives from plastics industry, heavily criticized in recent years, called for nations to compromise more to get a deal. The Global Partners for Plastics Circularity said governments must move past entrenched positions.

For any proposal to make it into the treaty, every nation must agree. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Vietnam and others have said that consensus is vital to an effective treaty. Some countries want to change the process so decisions may be made by a vote if necessary.

Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Geneva, urged delegates in that direction.

“We are going in circles. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result,” he said as Friday’s meeting ended.

The biggest issue of the talks has been whether the treaty should impose caps on producing new plastic or focus instead on things like better design, recycling and reuse.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.S. opposed cutting plastic production or banning chemical additives in the treaty. The U.S. supported provisions to improve waste collection and management, improve product design and drive recycling, reuse and other efforts to cut the plastic dumped into the environment.

Saudi Arabia said both drafts lacked balance, and Saudi and Kuwaiti negotiators said the latest proposal gave more weight to the views of other nations.

That draft, released early Friday, did not include a limit on plastic production, but recognized that current levels of production and consumption are “unsustainable” and global action is needed. New language had been added to say these levels exceeded current waste management capacities and are projected to increase further, “thereby necessitating a coordinated global response to halt and reverse such trends.”

The objective of the treaty was revamped to state that the accord would be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics. It talked about reducing plastic products containing “a chemical or chemicals of concern to human health or the environment,” as well as reducing of single-use or short-lived plastic products.

It was a much better, more ambitious text, though not perfect. Each country came to Geneva with a lot of “red lines,” said Magnus Heunicke, the Danish environment minister. Denmark holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Europe.

“To be very clear, a compromise means that we have to bend our red lines,” he said.

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Workers use razor blades to scrape off labels from different soft-drink plastic bottles at the Street Waste Company in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday, Aug 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee, bangs a gavel made of recycled plastic bottle tops from a Nairobi landfill, during a plenary session of the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Members of the civil society embrace each other before leaving the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

A scavenger collects recyclable items including plastic from a dump site in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Plastic items are displayed at an artwork by Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong, titled "The Thinker's Burden", during the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Plastic items are seen next to an artwork by Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong, titled "The Thinker's Burden", during the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, August 15, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Chair of the International Negotiating Committee Luis Vayas Valdivieso speaks during a plenary session of Second Part of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

John Thompson, of the U.S. Department of State, right, speaks with Dennis Clare, legal advisor to Micronesia's delegation, after a meeting for delegates to the plastic pollution treaty talks in Geneva, Switzerland, convened and adjourned in less than a minute late on Thursday, August 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Delegates reacts during a plenary session of Second Part of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Activists stage a protest during a plenary session of Second Part of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Delegates reacts during a plenary session of Second Part of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Aaron Glenn finally had seen enough from his porous, underachieving New York Jets defense after 14 games.

The first-year head coach fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday, a day after the team gave up 48 points in one of its worst losses in a 3-11 season.

Glenn announced that Chris Harris, the team's defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator, would take over for Wilks. Glenn added that he would assist Harris in the play-calling duties this week.

Glenn said during a video call with reporters that he made the decision late Sunday night — a few hours after New York's 48-20 loss at Jacksonville. He said he spoke to Wilks on Monday morning to inform him that he was relieving him of his duties.

“I felt like it was the best decision for the organization at this time,” Glenn said. “I've said this all along, that I'm evaluating players, I'm evaluating coaches, I'm evaluating myself, and I just felt like this was the best decision for right now, for the team and for this organization.”

The 56-year-old Wilks was the first of the Jets' three coordinators hired by Glenn after he took over as head coach in January. Wilks was out of the NFL last season while serving as a volunteer adviser for Charlotte’s football team. He was San Francisco’s defensive coordinator in 2023, but was fired after the 49ers’ loss in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wilks' defense with the Jets struggled all season, ranking among the league's worst against the run and points allowed. New York set an NFL record with no interceptions through its first 14 games, which also tied a league mark for any 14-game stretch in a season.

The Jets had expected their defense to be a strength for a team that was adjusting to changes to its coaching staff and with a new general manager in Darren Mougey. But the unit struggled all season under Wilks. As of Monday, the Jets' defense ranks 20th overall, 29th against the run and 30th in average points allowed. The pass defense has been serviceable, ranking 12th in the league.

New York, which failed to make the playoffs for the 15th straight year, dealt two of its top players — cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams — at the trade deadline. That further weakened an already inconsistent defense under Wilks.

Two weeks ago, the Jets gave up 167 yards rushing in a 27-24 victory over Atlanta. They followed that up by allowing 239 yards on the ground last week in a 34-10 loss to Miami. On Sunday, Trevor Lawrence threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score in the blowout loss at Jacksonville, during which the Jaguars scored on eight of their first nine possessions.

After the game, Glenn brushed off questions about whether he might consider pulling play-calling duties from Wilks, saying he brought the veteran coach to New York “for a reason, and I want him to run his system.” A few hours later, Glenn decided to move forward without Wilks for the final three games of the season.

“I just thought that from last week going into this week, the improvement wasn't there,” Glenn said. “And I thought it was time to make a change.”

The 43-year-old Harris had 16 career interceptions while playing safety for eight NFL seasons during two stints with Chicago, along with stops in Carolina, Detroit and Jacksonville. After retiring from playing in 2013, Harris began his coaching career as a defensive quality control coach for the Bears before joining the Chargers as an assistant defensive backs coach in 2016.

He served in the same role for Washington from 2020 through the 2022 season before being hired by Tennessee as the defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach.

Glenn said Harris has experience calling defensive plays in the preseason, so he expects him to get up to speed quickly.

“This is a league of change,” Glenn said. “And with change comes opportunity, and this will be a good opportunity for him to get a chance to call it.”

The Jets actually got their second defensive takeaway of the season against Jacksonville, a fumble recovery by Malachi Moore — just over two months after Andre Cisco's fumble recovery against Denver on Oct. 12. New York ranks last in the NFL with a minus-17 turnover differential.

“I want to see consistent improvement,” Glenn said. “I want to see structure that’s consistent. I want to see play that’s consistent. And I want to see the culture of this football team come together.”

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FILE - New York Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks walks onto the field before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, on Sept. 29, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray, File)