"Luis Vayas Valdivieso says he is quitting for personal and professional reasons after reports of pressure behind the scenes"

"The chair of stalled UN plastics treaty talks, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, is preparing to step down, after accounts of behind-the-scenes pressure from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).

The move will be announced at a UN meeting on Tuesday, with an official announcement expected by Thursday. Vayas Valdivieso confirmed in an interview with the Guardian that he was resigning and said: “There have been some challenges in the process.”

In August, global talks at the UN headquarters in Geneva to agree on a treaty to deal with accelerating plastic pollution collapsed after three years of negotiations. There is currently no deal and the future of the agreement is unclear."

Emma Bryce, Louise Krüger, Benard Ogembo and Conor McGlone report for the Guardian October 7, 2025. [2]