Nearly 200 countries are in Busan, South Korea, for negotiations on an agreement to prevent plastic pollution.

But efforts to reach the landmark agreement have been deadlocked on several key sticking points, most notably reducing production and phasing out chemicals believed or known to harm human health.

More than 100 countries support these measures and insist that a deal without them would fail to solve the pollution crisis. But it is strongly opposed by about a dozen countries that produce plastic precursors, mostly derived from fossil fuels.

As a result, with just one day left for negotiations, the draft text is still full of opposing views and contradictory language.

And the disappointment grows.

“The overwhelming majority of delegates here demand an ambitious agreement,” said Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, head of the Panamanian delegation.

“If there is no reduction in production, there will be no agreement. We cannot allow a few loud voices to derail the process,” he added.

A diplomat from the High Ambition Coalition, which brings together dozens of countries seeking a strong agreement, echoed that sentiment.

“We are a large group that has united around key influential elements and is preparing to break away,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door talks.

He said “some countries” were actively considering a vote, which would defeat the United Nations’ traditional approach of agreeing by consensus and “might raise a lot of eyebrows.”

JM Bope Bope Lapwong of the Democratic Republic of Congo said it was a possibility increasingly discussed as a “last resort”.

“If we cannot reach an agreement, I think we will have to go to a vote. We cannot come this far, this many kilometers, failing,” he told AFP.

“True, this is not the usual method in UN meetings and we will do it to our own shame, because when you negotiate you don’t expect to win everything.”

More than 90 percent of plastic is not recycled, and plastic production is expected to triple by 2060.

Environmental groups have argued that countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia have not offered any compromise during negotiations, forcing the assertive countries to move to a vote if progress stalls.

Neither delegation responded to AFP’s repeated requests for comment.

“A handful of governments (…) are looking backwards and refusing to take the steps necessary for us all to move forward,” said Greenpeace’s Graham Forbes.

“I think we’re at a very risky moment right now to be sold, and that would be a complete disaster.”

But observers warned that holding a vote could be a risky strategy that could tip even some countries in favor of a strong deal.

Another option, they said, could be for the diplomat heading the talks to reach a compromise by agreeing to the objections of a handful of opponents. But this carries risks that could potentially upset the remaining diplomatic process and jeopardize the acceptance of a future agreement.

“We do not want to go outside the framework of the United Nations,” said an official from the French environment ministry.

“We hope to find an agreement between now and tomorrow, and that’s the option we’re focusing on,” he added.

“A lot can happen in 24 hours.”