Geneva – An agreement has been reached recently at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as part of the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade, with an active contribution from Morocco as coordinator of the talks.
The 76 co-authors of the text capped the work completed over the past year and reached an agreement on the ministerial statement to be issued at the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) at the end of February.
Participants welcomed the text as “well balanced” and said it will help to achieve “concrete, pragmatic and effective” outcomes in the fight against plastics pollution, according to a press release from the Geneva-based international organization.
As coordinator of the talks, Ambassador Omar Zniber, Morocco’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, reiterated the importance of WTO members addressing the 21st-century challenge of plastics pollution, given that the UN estimates 19% of greenhouse gas emissions will stem from plastic by 2040.
He stated that
the revised statement carefully reflects all suggestions from over 600 comments made by more than 50 members.
The statement underscores the enhanced cooperation between the Dialogue and ongoing international processes, notably the synergy with the work at the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastics pollution, the diplomat explained.
Ambassador Chenggang Li of China, the Chair of the meeting, commended the progress made in finalizing the revised ministerial statement and the factual compilation document, which consists of trade-related practices already being adopted to tackle plastics pollution.
The text demonstrates the co-sponsors collective commitment to ensuring that MC13 achieves an important milestone in the Plastics Pollution Dialogue, he said.
Currently, 76 WTO members are participating in the Plastics Pollution Dialogue, representing 85% of global trade volume.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse