August 9, 2025 | Saturday
After years of stalled talks and only a few days left to secure a strong treaty, the stocktake plenary was a critical moment for the Chair and Member States to turn things around by calling for a vote, in order to break the paralysis of consensus-based decision-making. However, while many countries expressed frustration at the lack of progress and explicitly called out petro-state stalling tactics, no country took action to unlock negotiations and exercise democracy.
The Chair’s actions were also to blame for failing to meet this consequential moment in the talks. His proposal of work repeated the same methods that have been proven ineffective, and in an abrupt move, he cut the plenary short before all Member States queued were given the mic, which undermines a process that is supposed to be Member-led.
Countries cannot remain locked in a fatally flawed process and expect a different outcome. By staying silent, ambitious countries are playing into the hands of petro-states and the petrochemical and fossil fuel industry.
Read our press release.
A Strong Plastics Treaty Will Help Solve Plastic Pollution, With or Without Big Plastic Producers
As tensions reach a boiling point, questions are swirling around what would happen if we leave Geneva with a strong treaty that the low-ambition, plastic-producing countries won’t ratify. Would such a treaty be effective? Our Science and Policy Director Dr. Neil Tangri answers this question in his new blog post. The short answer? Absolutely.
Read more.
Civil Society in Action
As Member State delegates headed to the stocktake plenary, a crowd of civil society observers gathered outside the plenary halls holding signs reading: Keep Your Promise, Fix the Process, End Plastic Pollution. It was a powerful reminder to delegates that the world is watching.
Read our press release.
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About GAIA
GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 1,000 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries. With our work we aim to catalyze a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution. We envision a just, zero waste world built on respect for ecological limits and community rights, where people are free from the burden of toxic pollution, and resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped.
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