Considerations for Ensuring Protection of Human Health From Plastic Pollution in the Future International Legally Binding Instrument: A Cross-Cutting Approach

18 June 2026 | This informal briefing note considers the key elements of a cross-cutting approach to ensuring health protection in the future international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.

First Meeting of New Expert Group on Trade, Critical Minerals, and the Clean Energy Transition: Navigating Sustainability, Development and Security Objectives

11 June 2026 | This Expert Group, co-convened by TESS and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), held the first of a series of meetings bringing together a diverse group of international experts on trade, critical minerals, and the clean energy transition to focus on pathways for cooperation on intersecting sustainability, development, and security objectives.

Second High-level Roundtable on Trade, Climate and Sustainable Development: Towards a Trade-Related Climate Strategy for a Climate-Resilient Philippines

9 July 2026 | Co-organized by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the WTO and TESS, and hosted by the Institute of International Legal Studies of the University of the Philippines Law Center, this high-level roundtable in Manila advanced dialogue on a trade-related climate strategy for a climate-resilient Philippines.

TESS at London Climate Action Week 2026

20-28 June 2026 | TESS was actively engaged across this year’s London Climate Action Week (LCAW). From co-organizing public events to engagement in dynamic roundtables on a range of sectoral issues, TESS played a key role in catalysing dialogue on the nexus of climate, trade, and sustainable development at LCAW.

TESS at UNFCCC Bonn Intersessionals (SB64)

8-18 June 2026 | The annual mid-year Bonn climate intersessional meetings serve as a vital technical bridge between UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties. At this year’s session (SB64), climate negotiators worked to translate political commitments into concrete implementation frameworks for climate finance, adaptation, and just transition pathways. SB64 also saw the first meeting of the new Mutirão Dialogue on climate and trade. Alongside, TESS participated in, and supported, a variety of events exploring exploring pathways for cooperation on climate, trade, and sustainable development, including co-hosting an official side event.

SYNERGIES

Synergies is an online platform for commentary and perspectives from a diverse range of global experts, curated by TESS. The views and opinions are those of the author(s).

How Can the Future Treaty on Plastic Pollution Protect Our Health?

By Carolyn Deere Birkbeck and Lizzie Fuller

In this newly published Synergies article, TESS Executive Director Carolyn Deere Birkbeck and Senior Policy Advisor Lizzie Fuller emphasize that the ongoing negotiations to conclude an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution present an unmissable opportunity to meaningfully address the human health and environmental impacts of the plastic pollution crisis in truly integrated ways. The authors argue that effectively operationalizing the objective of protecting both human health and the environment in the treaty text will require a cross-cutting approach to health protection that pursues four complementary goals.

More from SYNERGIES

• Greening Bangladesh’s Garment Industry and Exploring Pathways Towards a Sustainable Transition
  By Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh.
• Bridging Carbon Standards and Trade Rules for a Coherent Climate Agenda
  By Chen Yang, Research Analyst, Food and Natural Resources Program, WRI China.
• Sector-Based Transition Compacts as an Element of Next-Generation Trade Architecture
  By Anthony Cox, Senior Policy Advisor, Ecologic Institute.
• Reducing Fragmentation and Fostering Interoperability in Trade-Related Climate Measures
  By Emma Aisbett, Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy; and Research Lead for Program 3 (Facilitating Transformation) in the Heavy Industry Low-Carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC).
• Trade and Climate Resilience in Senegal: Challenges and Responses in a Transitioning Economy
  By Ahmed Tidiane Dia, Director of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Senegal.
• The “Strategic Mirage” of Africa’s Green Minerals Wealth
  By Bright Simons, President, mPedigree.
• Multidimensional Agreements and Their Promise for Trade and Social Sustainability
  By Kathleen Claussen, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center.

TESS Video

TESS at London Climate Action Week: Remaking Global Trade Governance

During London Climate Action Week, TESS co-hosted this high-level conversation that explored how global trade governance must evolve to remain inclusive, sustainable, and equitable in a multipolar world.