2024-07-10 11:58:14
The 76 co-authors of the text crowned the work accomplished last year by agreeing on the Ministerial Declaration which will be published at the end of February at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13).
According to a statement from the Geneva-based international organization, participants welcomed the “well-balanced” text, which they said would help achieve “concrete, pragmatic and effective” results in the fight against plastic pollution.
In his capacity as coordinator of the dialogue, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Morocco in Geneva, Omar Zniber, reiterated the importance for WTO members to address the challenge of plastic pollution in the 21st century, recalling that the United Nations (UN) estimates that 19% of greenhouse gas emissions would come from plastic by 2040.
The revised Declaration carefully reflects all suggestions from over 600 comments made by more than 50 members, he detailed, noting that the document enshrines the enhanced cooperation between the WTO dialogue mechanism and ongoing international processes, including synergy with the work of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
For his part, Ambassador Chenggang Li of China, chair of the meeting, welcomed the progress made in finalizing the revised Ministerial Declaration and the document that includes business practices already adopted to combat plastic pollution.
The text demonstrates the collective commitment of the co-sponsors to ensure that MC13 takes an important step in the dialogue on plastic pollution, he said.
Currently, 76 WTO members participate in the Dialogue on Plastic Pollution, representing 85% of global trade volume.
2024-07-10 11:58:14