Oil Producers Block Binding UN Treaty to Curb Plastics

A small group of major oil-producing countries, including the leaders of the OPEC+ alliance – Saudi Arabia and Russia – have blocked a United Nations-backed summit from agreeing on a binding treaty to put limits on the production and use of plastics. To address plastics pollution, the UN convened a summit in Busan, South Korea, where delegates have been discussing the idea of a plastics treaty since November 25. The UN has said that the talks would be “essential” to deal with plastics pollution, but these talks and the summit…