A global U.N. summit on plastics ended in Busan, South Korea, early this morning without a much-anticipated treaty after fossil fuel companies and oil-rich countries refused to agree to limit plastic production. The Panama delegation, which introduced a global proposal to cut down production, called the conclusion of the summit a “moral failure.” This is Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez from Panama’s Ministry of Environment.

Juan Carlos Monterrey Gómez: “Plastics are not convenience. Plastics are poison. Every piece that we allow to produce without limits is a direct assault on our health, on our nature and our children. For those blocking progress, you are allowing this crisis to fester, and it will kill us. This is just not a treaty about plastics; this is humanity’s line on the sand.”

Over 100 countries backed proposals to curb the world’s output of plastic, but nations including the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and trade groups like the American Chemistry Council have refused to support such a call, insisting on focusing on plastic pollution. The world produces some 350 million metric tons of plastic waste each year. About half of that ends up in landfills; less than 10% of it gets recycled. The U.S. is the world’s top contributor to plastic waste. The U.N. talks will now head to yet another round in 2025.

On Saturday, Greenpeace activists staged a protest by boarding a tanker that was set to load toxic plastic chemicals from South Korea’s Hanwha TotalEnergies complex.