Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues | Plastics and Trade

About the Dialogues

The world is facing a plastic crisis, the status quo is not an option. Plastic pollution is a serious issue of global concern which requires an urgent and international response involving all relevant actors at different levels. Many initiatives, projects and governance responses and options have been developed to tackle this major environmental problem, but we are still unable to cope with the amount of plastic we generate. In addition, there is a lack of coordination which can better lead to a more effective and efficient response.

Various actors in Geneva are engaged in rethinking the way we manufacture, use, trade and manage plastics. The Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues aim at outreaching and creating synergies among these actors, highlighting efforts made by intergovernmental organizations, governments, businesses, the scientific community, civil society and individuals in the hope of informing and creating synergies and coordinated actions. The dialogues will also look at what the different stakeholders have achieved at all levels, present the latest research and governance options.

In addition, although the dialogues target stakeholders from all continents, they primarily aim to encourage increased engagement of the Geneva community in the run-up to various global environmental negotiations, such as:

• UNEA-5 (1st and 2nd sessions) in February 2021 and February 2022
• BRS COPs in July 2021
• SAICM ICCM5 in July 2021

This first session of dialogues will end in February 2021 to build momentum towards the first session of UNEA-5. It will aim to facilitate further engagement and discussions among the stakeholders in International Geneva and other actors across the regions, supporting coordinated approaches that can lead to more efficient global decision making. It will also intend to provide a platform to further carry the discussion from the recently concluded Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group (AHEG) on Marine Litter and Microplastics towards UNEA-5 part 2 in 2022.

The Plastics and Trade session is the sixth dialogue to be organized leading to and making recommendations towards the High-Level Dialogue on Plastic Governance Dialogue in 2021.

The dialogues are organized in collaboration with the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat, the Center for International Environmental Law, the Global Governance Centre at the Graduate Institute, Norway, and Switzerland.

Plastics and Trade Session

Trade plays a central role in the global plastics economy. Across the life cycle of plastics, international trade is a vehicle for the spread of plastics and plastic waste across borders. Recently, UNCTAD estimates that trade in plastics accounts for at least 5% of the total value of global trade. For some categories of plastics, over 60% of global production is traded internationally. As a growing number of countries join the call for a new international treaty on plastic pollution, there is also growing interest in the relevance of international trade and how greater cooperation on trade dimensions could support international environmental cooperation.

In the past few years, public alarm about the export of plastic waste to developing countries without adequate infrastructure for proper treatment and disposal – and the realization that only a fraction of the waste exported is recycled – has spurred many governments to take action. In 2018, China introduced a ban on certain plastic waste imports, a move followed by several other countries. In May 2019, the 187 parties to the Basel Convention added most types of plastic waste to the list of controlled wastes, effective on 1st January 2021. Many countries will require support for the implementation of the new Basel Convention’s new trade-related provisions on plastic waste, and there are important discussions underway on how to do this in a way that also facilitates effective recycling markets and circular economy efforts.

Meanwhile, there is growing attention to the challenges associated with trade in plastic products, not just waste, and especially single use plastics, which add to the plastic pollution burden that countries must manage. A growing number of countries have introduced bans on particular single-use plastic products for this reason, including a number of bans on the import of such products. Meanwhile, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for single-use plastics for personal protective equipment has increased. In order to promote sanitation and slow the spread of virus, various governments, have rolled back or postponed bans on single use-plastics. At the World Trade Organization (WTO), governments are showing increased interest in how international cooperation on trade dimensions can support efforts to tackle plastics pollution. Trade-related aspects of plastic pollution have been raised as an issue in every meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) since November 2016. There have also been various workshops and informal consultations both within and outside the WTO to raise awareness and support for action on this  topic in the past years.

In November 2020, an open-ended informal dialogue was launched among interested WTO members at the WTO trade and environment week, cosponsored by a diverse group of  developing and developed country cosponsors. This informal dialogue aims to complement existing international processes and explore how improved trade cooperation could complement domestic, regional, and global efforts to reduce plastics pollution and transition to a more circular and environmentally sustainable global plastics economy.

At UNCTAD, plastic pollution and waste management have been identified as challenges to be addressed when promoting sustainable manufacturing, circular economy, and sustainable blue economy approaches. Research and policy dialogue on plastic pollution and waste have been developed within the context of UNCTAD’s work streams on oceans economy, circular economy, financing a global green deal, and statistics. UNCTAD is also supporting research on the opportunities for developing countries in the production and export of non-plastic substitutes, such as those made from natural fibres.

Meanwhile, at the bilateral and regional level, there are important opportunities to support regional approaches to the intersection of international trade and plastic pollution policies, and a need to ensure that ongoing trade negotiations support and do not undermine national efforts to combat plastic pollution.

Leading experts invited to talk at this session will look at the potential contributions of trade policy to international cooperation on reducing plastic pollution.