August 4th, 2025 Geneva, Switzerland – A day before the final round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty starts, hundreds of citizens and civil society organisations from across the world gathered at Place des Nations in Geneva to demand an ambitious and legally binding treaty that puts people and the planet before polluters.
The demonstration, organised by Greenpeace Switzerland and the Break Free from Plastic movement, the Gallifrey Foundation and a growing coalition of environmental and social justice groups, kicked off the last phase of the UN negotiations taking place from 5 to 14 August at the Palais des Nations. Protesters wore yellow, red and orange to symbolise the urgency of the crisis and the danger posed by the unchecked production of plastic, which is overwhelmingly derived from fossil fuels.
“As host country of the negotiations on plastic pollution, we count on Switzerland to stay firm on the ambition of the future Global Treaty. With plastic production set to triple by 2050, the treaty would be bound to fail without a global target to reduce plastic production. We need to end the age of plastic to protect our health, our communities and our planet” said Joëlle Hérin, expert in consumption and circular economy at Greenpeace Switzerland.
With negotiations about to begin, civil society is calling out the role of the fossil fuel industry in undermining progress, and urging delegates to focus on upstream measures that tackle plastic production at its source.
“At the previous round of negotiations, we counted 221 lobbyists from the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries. If they had formed a single delegation, it would have been the largest at the talks, far outnumbering that of the European Union and its Member States combined (191). This overwhelming presence shows just how threatened these industries are by a strong Plastics Treaty. With Geneva being a major hub for crude oil and petrochemical trade, their numbers could be even higher this time.
Civil society has had enough of their manipulation and delay tactics. The world can now see clearly: plastics and the climate change crisis are fuelled by the fossil fuel industry. A handful of companies are impacting billions of lives. We need a robust and legally binding Treaty. Now. We are all watching”, said Laurianne Trimoulla, Communications and Project Manager of the Gallifrey Foundation.
The mobilisation marks a powerful show of unity from citizens and NGOs determined to protect human health, human rights, and ecosystems from the escalating plastic pollution crisis.
"A strong global plastics treaty isn't just about reducing pollution — it’s our opportunity to end the injustice of waste trade, ensuring that no community becomes a dumping ground for another’s excess. A meaningful treaty must close loopholes that disguise waste trade as recycling. Switzerland's plastic waste exports to Malaysia have increased significantly, 271%, from 69,820 kg in 2022 to 258,897 kg in 2024. By curbing waste trade, the plastics treaty can shift nations such as Switzerland from exporting pollution to investing in upstream solutions and taking responsibility for their own waste” said Mageswari Sangaralingam, from Sahabat Alam Malaysia.
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Notes to the editor
- Photos and videos from the mobilization are available here.
About Greenpeace – Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice. Founded in 1971 by a group of concerned citizens who sought to halt nuclear weapons testing by the United States military off the coast of Alaska, Greenpeace now operates in 55 countries and territories across the globe. Our mission is to protect biodiversity in all its forms and to address the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. We are guided by our core values of non-violence, personal accountability, independence, and a commitment to highlighting not only environmental problems but also creating practical and hopeful solutions.
About the Gallifrey Foundation — The Gallifrey Foundation is an ocean protection organisation founded in Geneva. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: plastic and related chemical pollution, shark protection, deep seabed mining, ecocide, overfishing, ocean rights, whaling. Plastic Free Campus is a free programme run by the Foundation to help schools “de-plastify” their campuses.
About BFFP — #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 2,700 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain – from extraction to disposal – focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org.
Global Press Contacts:
- Greenpeace International: Angelica Pago, +63 917 112 4492, angelica.pago@greenpeace.org
- Greenpeace Switzerland: Fanny Eternod, +41 78 662 07 31, fanny.eternod@greenpeace.org
- Break Free From Plastic: Caro Gonzalez | Caro@breakfreefromplastic.org | +1 646 991-1013
Regional Press Contact:
- Europe: Bethany Spendlove Keeley | Bethany@breakfreefromplastic.org | +49 176 595 87 941
- Switzerland: Gallifrey Foundation, Laurianne Trimoulla | laurianne@gallifrey.foundation | +41 79 860 08 45
- Africa: Masego Mokgwetsi | masego@breakfreefromplastic.org | +27 71-412-2314
- United States: Brett Nadrich | Brett@breakfreefromplastic.org | +1 929 269-4480
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Mafe Pérez Rincones | Mafe@breakfreefromplastic.org | +58 424 210-8017
- Asia & the Pacific: Eah Antonio | Eah@breakfreefromplastic.org | +91 9899747422
