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GENEVA (AP) \u2014 Environmentalists and Indigenous leaders held signs Tuesday in front of the United Nations buildings in Geneva, where talks for a global accord to end plastic pollution<\/a> are taking place, asking nations to show courage and agree to a strong treaty.<\/p>\n Most were from organizations that are part of the Break Free From Plastic movement. They said they wanted their voices to be heard as the talks wind down in Switzerland. Nations are crafting the first global, legally binding treaty on plastics pollution.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve invested a lot into coming all the way to Geneva, away from our communities, away from our families, because we understand how important an issue this is and how crucial a moment this is,\u201d said Juressa Lee, who is from New Zealand and was representing the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance. \u201cIt\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime plastics treaty.\u201d<\/p>\n They urged delegates to vote on the treaty if consensus can\u2019t be reached and the process becomes paralyzed. Every nation must agree for any proposal to be included in the treaty.<\/p>\n The talks are scheduled to conclude Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cTo date the process has been broken,” said Brett Nadrich, spokesperson from Break Free From Plastic. “Civil society leaders from around the world, together with those most impacted, are speaking with a unified voice that we need to show courage, not compromise, and fix the process.\u201d<\/p>\n The head of Panama\u2019s delegation to the talks, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, cheered them on as he walked by.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need that all over the world,\u201d he told The Associated Press. \u201cWe need people outside of here to tell their countries to speak up for what it is that they\u2019re standing for. Are they standing for them, their citizens, or big oil?\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest issue is whether the treaty should impose caps on producing new plastic or focus instead on things like better design, recycling and reuse. Panama is helping to lead an effort to include plastic production in the treaty.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to be pushing until the end,\u201d Monterrey Gomez said. \u201cBecause if there is no production, there\u2019s no treaty.\u201d<\/p>\n Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Powerful oil-producing nations are strongly opposed to including plastic production in the treaty.<\/p>\n Momentum has been growing for a proposal led by Mexico and Switzerland for an article to address problematic plastic products, including single-use plastics, and chemicals.<\/p>\n Camila Zepeda, who is leading negotiations on that article for Mexico, said there is an understanding there are harmful additives contained in plastics and some plastics not essential for everyday life that could be managed and eventually phased out.<\/p>\n Tuesday’s sessions are \u201cvery intense\u201d as negotiators work against the clock, Zepeda said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s slow progress,\u201d she said. \u201cBut hopefully we still manage to get an agreement. I do see an appetite to finish and to get an outcome here at Geneva.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n