INF/TE/IDP/RD/142* 
27 November 2023  
(23-7999) Page: 1/3 
 Original:  English/anglais/inglés  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT OF THE SCIENTISTS’ COALITION FOR AN EFFECTIVE PLASTICS TREATY   
Pre-Plenary Meeting – 23 November 2023  
 
DOCUMENT DE S ÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT OF THE SCIENTISTS’ COALITION FOR AN EFFECTIVE PLASTICS TREATY   
Pre-Plenary Meeting – 23 November 2023  
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
 
DIALOGUE ON PLASTICS POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE 
PLASTICS TRADE  
STATEMENT OF THE SCIENTISTS’ COALITION FOR AN EFFECTIVE PLASTICS TREATY   
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 me eting rooms and are attributed 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 l a 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 efectos de archivo únicamente.  INF/TE/IDP/RD/142  
 
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  Thank you Chair,  
Your excellencies,  
Distinguished Members of the WTO,  
 
 
My name is Professor Trisia Farrelly. I am speaking on behalf of the Scientists’ Coalition for an 
Effective Plastics Treaty - a group of almost 300 plastic pollution researchers located in over 50 
countries. Our scientists have declared that the plastic pollution research they are all actively 
involved in is free of any current professional, financial, or other interest which could significantly 
impair their objectivity in carrying out their research or that could create an unfair advantage for 
any person or organization[i]. The goal of the Scientists’ Coalition is to facilitate access to the rapidly 
evolving plastic pollution science for all WTO Members and countries involved in the INCs.  
 
● The Scie ntists’ Coalition Secretariat, Steering Committee, and our dedicated WTO DPP Working 
Group wish to congratulate the WTO DPP for its crucial contributions to the INC process toward 
ending plastic pollution.  
 
● We are grateful to the WTO DPP Coordinators fo r distributing the revised draft of the Ministerial 
Declaration to all stakeholders. The inclusivity and transparency demonstrated by the WTO DPP is 
of critical importance and reflects the operationalisation of the Scientists’ Coalition. We look forward 
to contributing further to this process in 2024.  
 
● While the Scientists’ Coalition was disappointed that the intersessional work could not find 
consensus at the third session of the INC, this has only galvanized us to increase our support for 
WTO members a nd UN member states during the intersessional period. The Scientists’ Coalition are 
currently discussing the prioritisation of work during the intersessional period. Resources permitting, 
this is likely to include the development of safety, sustainability and transparency assessment criteria 
for chemicals associated with plastics and plastic polymers, as well as alternatives and substitutes.  
 
● The Scientists’ Coalition have shared our reflections on the Ministerial Declaration with the WTO 
as well as our outputs thus far including our responses to the Zero Draft text of the future legally 
binding plastic pollution instrument [ii]. We look forward to sharing future outputs during the 
intersessional period as well as our reflections on the vital work of the WTO and the INCs. We have 
shared our position on the necessary assessment criteria in our reflections thus far as well as our 
preference for the essentiality approach rather than the less scientifically assessable terms 
‘avoidable’ and ‘problematic’. The e ssentiality approach also serves the need for just transition. The 
Scientists’ Coalition promotes hazards -based assessments over risk -based assessments and the 
need for the application of the precautionary principle in assessing chemicals, materials, produ cts, 
technologies, and systems and services.  
 
● The recently convened Plastic Health Council presented at INC -3 alerted attendees to the 
thousands of peer -reviewed academic studies highlighting that exposures to plastic chemicals 
including those present i n plastic alternatives can cause infertility, cancer, cognitive disorders, and 
auto-immune disease and that plastic particles can induce a variety of toxic effects including 
oxidative stress, metabolic disorder, immune response, neurotoxicity, as well as r eproductive and 
developmental toxicity, respiratory and lung disease.  
 
● We note that the Ministerial Declaration indicates there is collective agreement on compilations 
presented in the Declaration. However, it is our understanding that the compilations have not been 
collectively agreed. Nor are the compilations based on a c ommonly agreed, scientifically robust 
scientific and socio -economic set of safety, sustainability, essentiality, and transparency assessment 
criteria. We also note that the compilations are not based on an agreed glossary of scientifically 
supported defini tions. We hope to see this reflected in the Ministerial Declaration. Ultimately, the 
Ministerial Declaration shall recognise that such lists should be subject to review following the 
adoption of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollu tion, including in the marine 
environment.  
 
● We understand that the compilation items are not necessarily recommended items but as noted 
by the Chair, these are lists that members may consider . Therefore, it is also the position of the 
Scientists’ Coalit ion that, if the WTO is to have all the information necessary for members to 
consider  items listed in the compilations, the members will first need to nominate an expert group 
to develop the necessary assessment criteria for these items before the adoption  of the Ministerial INF/TE/IDP/RD/142  
 
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  Declaration. The nomination process for such an expert group should be grounded in principles of 
inclusivity, and transparency and a robust conflict of interest policy. To ensure just transition, the 
expert group will require sectoral a nd regional representation as well as invaluable input from 
Indigenous rights and knowledge holders, citizen scientists, and the informal sector.  
 
● Enabling such a scientifically rigorous approach to the compilations will prevent those considering 
items in the list from adopting regrettable outcomes and substitutes, further delays, and future 
complications in the INC process.  
 
● Finally, the Scientists’ Coalition is pleased to see that the Declaration recognises the need for open 
and adaptable compilatio ns to be regularly reviewed based on “global, regional and domestic efforts, 
as well as on technical and scientific developments.” The review of these compilations should also 
be conducted so as to ensure alignment between the WTO DPP and the INC process.  
Thank you very much for your time and attention.  
 
 
Please accept, Excellencies and colleagues, the assurances of our highest consideration.  
 
 
[i] IPCC. IPCC Conflict of interest policy. 2016. 
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/09/ipcc -conflict -of-interest -2016.pdf.  
[ii] https://linktr.ee/scientistscoalition  
 
 
 
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