The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution Delegations began its fifth and final session in the southern port city of Busan on Monday to produce a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution. 

Some four thousand people, including delegates from some 170 UN member states, will discuss through Sunday substantial ways to reduce plastic production, consumption and waste. 

Some countries are pushing for a strong treaty that centers on slashing plastic production while others have taken a more lukewarm stance and have voiced support for focusing on managing plastic waste. 

If an agreement is reached at the session, the treaty will be finalized at the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries in June 2025.

The production of plastic, which is regarded to be a major contributor to environmental pollution, has doubled in the past two decades to 460 million tons as of 2019.