About
A TESS initiative promoting international cooperation on trade and trade policies to support the global plastics treaty negotiations.
In a remarkable achievement, 175 UN member countries agreed on a resolution to launch negotiations on a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution at the Fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly on 2 March 2022. The resolution sets in motion a process for concluding a new global plastics treaty. This TESS initiative supports the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee by promoting cooperation on how trade and trade policies can facilitate those efforts.
Historic Negotiations to End Plastic Pollution
The adoption of the resolution at the United Nations Environment Assembly to launch negotiations on a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution represents a historic moment. The resolution defines the scope and aims of the negotiations, with the goal of concluding an agreement by the end of 2024.
The resolution calls on governments to develop an instrument that includes “both binding and voluntary approaches, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics" and "promotes sustainable production and consumption of plastics." While the negotiations are at an early stage, the fact that sustainable production and consumption of plastics is a core focus of the treaty means that attention to international supply chains and trade policies in the course of negotiations is already rising. A global plastics treaty could potentially shape future production and trade flows in plastics and there are nascent discussions of the scope to reflect trade-related provisions.
In this context, this initiative aims to support discussions on where and how enhanced international cooperation on trade and trade policies can facilitate the treaty negotiations, including through the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution at the WTO.
Realizing the ambition of a new international treaty to end plastic pollution calls for complementary attention to how we can harness international economic cooperation to transform the plastics economy, support a just transition to sustainability, and foster new economic opportunities, especially for developing countries.
High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution
TESS is proud to support the co-chairs of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution to achieve an ambitious and effective treaty.
The High Ambition Coalition, which is co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda and has 59 members from a broad diversity of regions and levels of economic development, was formed by a group of like-minded countries following the adoption of the resolution at the United Nations Environment Assembly to launch negotiations on a new global plastics treaty. The coalition is committed to develop an ambitious and effective international legally binding instrument based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics. The shared ambition of its members is to end plastic pollution by 2040.
TESS began this support role at the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) held in Paris, France on 29 May–2 June 2023 and looks forward to continuing to support the coalition’s co-chairs and members as the negotiations on the global plastics treaty advance.
