Maria Ivanova, director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and professor of public policy, with co-authors Charles Di Leva and John Scanlon, describes the current state of international plastics treaties. “An Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was created to conduct the negotiations,” they write. The fifth of these committees “could not agree on the elements of a plastic pollution treaty. Disagreements were notable on goals and measures for reducing overall plastic production and on chemicals of concern in products. … What if no consensus can be reached under this UNEA process?” The authors also propose alternative ways forward.