A number of World Trade Organisation (WTO) member nations, including the UK, have opened up an informal dialogue on creating a more environmentally sustainable plastics trade.
With the aim of creating more globally coordinated action for dealing with plastic pollution, the nations involved are inviting all WTO member nations to join the open-ended forum.
In a statement, the countries set out the goals of the discussion. These are: “Aiming to complement existing international processes in other fora – and avoid duplication –
the informal dialogue will explore how improved trade cooperation, within the rules and mechanisms of the WTO, could contribute to domestic, regional and global efforts to reduce plastics pollution and transition to a more circular and environmentally sustainable global plastics economy.
“Possible subjects for discussion include improving transparency, monitoring trade trends, promoting best practices, strengthening policy coherence, identifying the scope for collective approaches, assessing capacity and technical assistance needs, and cooperating with other international processes and efforts.”
The nations that have set up the informal discussion are Australia, Barbados, Cabo Verde, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, The Gambia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Morocco, New Zealand, Switzerland, Thailand and United Kingdom.
