Delegates from more than 170 countries are in South Korea for a week of meetings, in hopes of coming to a binding deal to limit the 400 million tons of plastic waste produced globally each year. 

“Our world is drowning in plastic pollution," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a November 25 video message, adding that at the current rate of pollution, there could be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.

Meetings in Busan, South Korea kicked off on November 25, where representatives from the U.S., U.K., China, the European Union, and many others will gather for the fifth and final round of negotiations on a treaty years in the making. In past meetings, most delegates have agreed on a handful of key points, including the need to redesign plastic products to be more recyclable, more investments in how plastic waste is managed, and increases in overall recycling rates. The biggest sticking point, though, has centered around a debate over implementing hard limits on plastic production. A coalition led by 66 nations — including the EU, Rwanda and Norway — have supported such limits, while countries like Saudi Arabia that rely on exporting large amounts of oil and plastics have been opposed to any and all restrictions.

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Guterres says that the hope is that nations can agree to a treaty that is "ambitious, credible and just," and that it's especially essential that the deal addresses the lifecycle of plastics. According to data from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), 75-199 million tons of plastic pollution can be found in the ocean right now. Between 2016 and 2040, the UNEP warns, the yearly rate of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could triple, rising from 14 million tons annually in 2016 to as much as 37 million tons a year in 2040. Those plastics can take up to 1,000 years to fully decompose, UNEP chief Inger Anderson says, as they break into smaller particles that "persist, pervade and pollute" the world's ecosystems.

"This is why public and political pressure for action has risen to a crescendo," Anderson adds.