Negotiators aim to reconvene the talks next year. Observers say oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia had frustrated attempts to forge a legally binding deal, while UNEP describes global commitment to ending plastic plastic pollution as “clear and undeniable”.

Negotiations in South Korea for a global treaty on plastic waste stalemated over limits on plastic production and the elimination of harmful chemicals.

Diplomats at a United Nations conference in Busan, South Korea, failed to reach agreement on the world’s first treaty to tackle plastic pollution on Sunday. They said they would reconvene in future months to try again.