In 2021, over 100 countries are calling for a new global agreement to tackle plastic pollution and for a decision on next steps at the UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA) in 2022. Alongside, over 190 countries have signed new amendments to the Basel Convention to better regulate trade in plastic waste. In addition, over 50 WTO Members have cosponsored a Ministerial Statement on Plastic Pollution to be launched at the WTO’s 2021 Ministerial Conference.

To build on this momentum, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and TESS held a discussion on “Plastic Pollution and Trade: WTO, Basel Convention and a Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution” on 2 December 2021, 10:30-11:45 CET, during the IISD Trade + Sustainability Hub 2021.

The session addressed the questions – How does plastic trade affect communities and the environment? Why are trade policies relevant and how can they support and complement international commitments and evolving international efforts to tackle plastic pollution?

Speakers

• Hemantha Withanage, Senior Advisor at Center for Environmental Justice, and Chairperson at Friends of the Earth International
• Maria Daniela Garcia Freire, Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Ecuador at the WTO
• Valentina Sierra, Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Uruguay to the UN
• Brenda Koekkoek, Program Manager at UN Environment Programme
• Andres del Castillo, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law

Moderator

• Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Director, TESS