INF/TE/IDP/RD/143* 
27 November 2023  
(23-8016) Page: 1/2 
 Original:  English/anglais/ inglés  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN)  
Pre-Plenary Meeting – 23 November 2023  
 
DOCUMENT DE S ÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN)  
Pre-Plenary Meeting – 23 November 2023  
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON  PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
 
STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN)  
Pre-Plenary Meeting – 23 November 2023  
_______________  
 
 
* In Original language only/En langue originale seulement/En el idioma original solamente.  
1 Documents issued in the RD series are not official WTO documents. They usually appear in their 
language of submission and will not be translated systematically into the working languages of the WTO. They 
are intended for use in WTO meeting rooms and are a ttributed an unofficial symbol for archiving purposes only.  
Les documents de la série RD ne sont pas des documents officiels de l 'OMC. Ils ne paraissent 
généralement que dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été communiqués et ne seront pas systématiquement 
traduits dans les langues de travail de l'OMC. Ils sont destinés aux salles de réunion de l'OMC et une cote non 
officielle leur est attribuée à des fins d'archivage.  
Los documentos de la serie RD no son documentos oficiales de la OMC. Por lo general se distribuyen en 
el idioma en que han sido presentados y no se traduce n sistemáticamente a los idiomas de trabajo de la 
Organización. Se distribuyen para su uso en las salas de reunión de la OMC y se les asigna una signatura no 
oficial a efecto s de archivo únicamente.  INF/TE/IDP/RD/143  
 
- 2 - 
 
  Dear Excellencies:  
 
 
We applaud the WTO Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade 
for its proposal of a draft statement for MC -13 and greatly appreciate the opportunity to address 
these comments in the hopes of building further bridges between the ongoing Intergovernmental  
Negotiating Committee (INC) for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, 
including in the marine environment (ILBI) and the WTO. We offer is intervention as a complement 
to the IUCN written submission.  
 
The IUCN highlights the imp ortance of the intersections between the WTO and the INC process 
leading to the ILBI. In particular, the draft statement provides an opportunity to reiterate that the 
inclusion of issues such as subsidies as part of the ILBI would offer coherence with exis ting WTO 
laws. As seen during INC -3 last week, a clear statement of the ability of the ILBI and the WTO 
regimes to coexist and complement each other is crucial to the creation of a strong ILBI in law and 
in practice.  
 
The draft statement should serve as a clear recognition of the triple planetary crisis and trade as a 
cross-cutting element of addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, especially plastic 
pollution. As the IUCN submission suggests, the addition of language recognizing the con nections 
between trade, plastic pollution and biodiversity protection is essential. So too are terms that reflect 
the need for the compilation addressing “ environmental, social and health impacts ” to specify that 
this includes “environmental health, biodiv ersity health and human health.” References to the 
Convention on Biological Diversity and, especially, to the 2022 Kunming -Montreal Global Biodiversity 
Framework should also be included in the preamble and core elements of the draft statement. These 
includ e the potential use of environmental and biodiversity criteria for assessments of substitutes 
and alternatives to plastics.  
 
Finally, the IUCN wishes to emphasize the role of just transitions in all aspects of addressing plastic 
pollution, including in tra de and associated practices. For this reason, our submission suggests the 
inclusion of connections with just transitions across the full life -cycle of plastics, with nature positive 
systems and trade practices, and nature -based solutions  as part of the sha red principles section.  
 
Again, we thank you for the chance to participate in this vital dialogue and stand ready to provide 
the expertise in protecting nature that the IUCN has honed over the course of its 75 -year history.  
 
 
 
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