Plastics Pollution Dialogue Advances
Discussions, eyeing MC12 Outcome
WTO
members participating in the Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally
Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP) discussed on 21 June how the WTO can contribute
to strengthening policy coherence, exploring collective approaches among WTO members
and improving technical assistance to developing countries in support of global
efforts to reduce plastic waste and move towards a circular plastics economy. A
strong call was made for a declaration to be issued at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial
Conference (MC12), to be held in late November, to guide further actions.
Ambassador
Jose Valencia (Ecuador) and Ambassador Chad Blackman (Barbados), two of the six
co-coordinators of the IDP, invited members to explore the topics of assessing policy
coherence, collective approaches and developing countries' needs for capacity building.
It is
crucial to identify how trade policy can complement efforts at the international,
regional and domestic levels to tackle plastics pollution, the two coordinators
said. They stressed that members should keep in mind recent policies adopted and
important milestones to be reached in 2021, such as COP 26 of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change in November and COP 15 of the Convention
on Biological Diversity in October.
Ambassador
Chenggang Li of China, another IDP co-coordinator, reiterated the importance of
building synergies between the IDP and international processes and invited members
to start deliberating on the structure of a MC12 declaration. This could include
key results from discussions at the IDP and a roadmap towards achieving concrete
outcomes at MC13, he said. He also noted the importance of ensuring synergies with
other environmental sustainability initiatives at the WTO, including the Structured
Discussions on Trade and Environmental Sustainability.
The WTO
Secretariat stressed that addressing the plastics pollution issue required a comprehensive
mapping of the plastics value chain and analysis of the opportunities and challenges
it presents. Following the launch of the IDP in November 2020, members' engagement
in discussions on plastics had quadrupled, including in meetings of the Committee
on Trade and Environment. This had resulted in many members sharing studies and
experiences on topics such as marine litter, plastics pollution, and public-private
partnerships in the transition to a circular economy.
A number
of guest speakers presented their recent studies, projects and lessons learned in
the fight against plastics pollution. Researchers from Australia and New Zealand
introduced their study on "Plastic pollution prevention in Pacific Island countries:
Gap analysis of current legislation, policies and plans’’. The study finds that
due to the transboundary flows of plastics, the Pacific Island countries need international
support regardless of the effectiveness of their national policy frameworks.
The European
Union briefed participants on its experience in transitioning to a circular plastics
economy through policies such as the EU plastics strategy, the single-use plastic
directive and the zero-pollution strategy.
Norway's Ministry of Climate and Environment introduced a study on the role
of regional instruments in strengthening cooperation on marine plastics pollution
and reaffirmed the need for reaching a new global agreement. The World Economic
Forum's Global Plastic Action Partnership presented its work in Ghana and its trade-related
recommendations to the government to support a more circular plastics economy. The
International Organization for Standardization presented its work on plastics-related
standards in support of greater policy coherence, efficiency and circularity.
Participants
agreed that the plastics issue is a global challenge requiring multilateral solutions
for which the WTO could play a central role. One member said one of the greatest
challenges that the WTO could help address is the inconsistency of policies along
the plastics value chain. It was imperative, therefore, to have a clear mapping
of supply chains and existing requirements, such as customs classifications.
Some
members noted the importance of starting negotiations on a global plastics agreement
under the UN Environment Assembly while ensuring IDP discussions support any international
outcome.
Single-use
plastics were identified by a few members as a major threat to the ecosystem. They
called for coordinated efforts to restrict unnecessary single-use plastics while
encouraging the use of eco-friendly alternatives. The design of plastic products
and packaging also need to be addressed, some members pointed out.
Other
members reiterated the need for strengthening technical assistance for least-developed
countries and small island developing countries. Key elements of the discussions
in the IDP should be included in the MC12 declaration, said some members. This could
include enhanced transparency, greater regulatory cooperation across supply chains
and encouraging environmentally responsible trade.
The United
Nations Environment Programme said the WTO could provide
much-needed trade regulations on the production and consumption of plastics goods.
The Graduate Institute presented its report containing recommendations on how international
trade policy can help tackle plastic pollution, such as trade bans for single-use
plastics and eliminating trade barriers on non-plastic substitutes. Several other
invited stakeholders also took the floor to share their views and suggestions.
Ambassador
Chad Blackman said the fruitful discussions have generated some key elements for
formulating an MC12 outcome and taking the dialogue forward. The need for technical
assistance and capacity building is critical, he said, encouraging all WTO members
to participate in the IDP to address this. The next IDP meeting will be chaired
by Australia and will focus on the MC12 outcome, he said, reiterating that all members
are invited to join.
Launched
in November 2020
by a group of WTO members, the Informal Dialogue seeks to address the rising environmental,
health and economic cost of plastics pollution. It currently has 16 co-sponsors
and is open to all WTO members. The aim of the group is to complement discussions
in the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment and other fora.
Key topics
identified by the proponents to be discussed
in 2021 include: improving transparency; monitoring trade trends; promoting best
practices; strengthening policy coherence; identifying the scope for collective
approaches; assessing capacity and technical assistance needs; and cooperating with
other international processes and efforts.
The 16
WTO members who currently co-sponsor the informal dialogue are: Australia, Barbados,
Cabo Verde, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Ecuador, Fiji, The Gambia,
Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Morocco, New Zealand, Switzerland, Thailand and the United
Kingdom.
Co-coordinators
of the initiative are Australia, Barbados, China, Ecuador, Fiji and Morocco.