It thus became a party to scuttling the proposed United Nations Global Plastics Treaty (INC 5.2) for which negotiations were held in Geneva from August 4-14, 2025. India’s stance: The development argument and its limitsIndia sided with the LMC bloc voicing opposition to limits on plastic production. Plastic, petrochemicals, and neocolonial dependenceAdam Hanieh’s Petrochemical Empire highlights how plastics are inseparable from the global oil and petrochemical complex. Trade risks and the Global South’s vulnerabilityOpposing limits on plastic production carries significant trade risks for India and other countries in the Global South. A just future would mean confronting petrochemical dependency, rejecting neocolonial logics, and embracing pathways that strengthen rather than weaken global environmental governance.