A global meeting in South Korea's Busan to finalise a treaty to combat plastic pollution ended without an agreement on Sunday, as countries failed to thrash out critical issues, such as capping plastic production and finance.
This was the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which has been working since 2022 to draft a legally-binding treaty on plastic pollution.
The week-long talks exposed deep divisions between countries calling for limits on plastic production and harmful chemicals and those focusing only on managing plastic waste.
Negotiators from nearly 200 nations held closed-door discussions on Saturday to bridge differences on key issues, but the draft released on Sunday left most concerns unresolved.
The countries have now agreed to reconvene next year to continue the negotiations.
INC chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso told delegates: "We must build on the progress we have made.... There is a general agreement to resume the current session at a later date to conclude our negotiations."