UN plastics treaty chair to step down with process in turmoil

Luis Vayas Valdivieso said: ‘There have been some challenges in the process.’ Photograph: Dave Chan/AFP/Getty Images

The chair of stalled UN plastics treaty talks, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, is preparing to step down, after accounts of behind-the-scenes pressure from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).

The move will be announced at a UN meeting on Tuesday, with an official announcement expected by Thursday. Vayas Valdivieso confirmed in an interview with the Guardian that he was resigning and said: “There have been some challenges in the process.”