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.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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)

NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.

The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.

On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.

“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”

A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.

“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.

The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”

“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.

The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”

Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.

The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”

“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”

The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”

Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.

Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.

Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.

The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”

“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”

The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.

“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)