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Abu Dhabi: A ministerial statement circulated by the six co-coordinators of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP) — Australia, Barbados, China, Ecuador, Fiji and Morocco — today at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) outlines trade-related actions to address the environmental, health and economic impacts of plastics pollution.
The statement proposes a series of actions to curb trade in harmful plastics, unnecessary single-use plastics and plastics packaging and to promote substitutes, such as bamboo or algae biomass. Measures already being adopted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) members are reflected in a factual compilation attached to the statement.
The ministerial statement outlines a set of actions that co-sponsors could take to reduce plastic pollution. These measures include bans on single-use plastics, adopting eco-design and labelling requirements, and offering financial support and tax concessions for sustainable and safe non-plastic substitutes. The statement includes a compilation of policies already being pursued by WTO members. The actions include:
i. increasing transparency of trade flows of plastics (e.g. of single-use plastics, plastic films and hard-to-recycle plastics) as well as those embedded in traded goods but not captured by trade data.
ii. reducing plastics that are harmful to the environment or human health, or unnecessary single-use plastics and plastics packaging.
iii. promoting safe and sustainable non-plastic substitutes, alternatives, services and technologies
iv. improving the capacity of developing countries to use trade as a tool to tackle plastics pollution
One point emphasized by the statement is the close cooperation between the Plastics Dialogue and other ongoing international processes, such as the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC) and its engagement with the World Customs Organization in amending the Harmonized System (HS) for better tracking trade in plastic goods.
Launched in November 2020 by a group of WTO members, the Plastics Pollution Dialogue currently consists of 78 co-sponsors, representing 85 per cent of global trade.
Sonsoles Garcia, Ecuadorian Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, said that the Ministerial Statement signifies a milestone achieved by the 78-member initiative on plastics pollution, as it sends a resounding political message that ¨trade and trade policy are an indispensable part of the solution to the plastic pollution crisis.”
Kerrie Symmonds, Barbados’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, highlighted the urgency of addressing single-use plastics pollution, particularly for ocean-based economies such as Barbados. “According to UNCTAD, the value of global exports in single-use plastics has doubled since 2005. And today, the value of global exports in the plastics industry is now around USD 1 trillion per year. Trade in plastics has become a global problem and trade policy must be part of a global solution,” he said.
Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister for Trade, Australia, said the statement manifested the collaboration among WTO members and the enhanced cooperation between the WTO and other international processes. “No one country can tackle the plastics challenge alone. I can see what is emerging as a trend that the WTO is making sure that our trade architecture supports our global environmental imperatives. And that our trade work here and the trade architecture that we design doesn’t undermine the work of the other global institutions, particularly the environmental institutions, in fixing up our oceans and our environment,” he said.
Fei Li, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce emphasized trade’s critical role in addressing plastics pollution. “This Ministerial Statement will reinvigorate actions to address plastics pollution and advance WTO reform. Our dialogue should continue to follow the principles of inclusiveness, transparency, balance and pragmatism, strengthen coordination with other international processes, and strike a balance between the environment, development and trade,” he said.
– global bihari bureau