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Greening Aid for Trade (Working Paper No. 4 in TESS Series)

1st November 2021

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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes trade as an essential means of implementation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Aid for Trade (AfT) is a mechanism which aims to support developing countries in building the capacity and infrastructure so that they can benefit from and engage in trade. AfT is an integral part of the SDG 8, in particular target 8a. on increasing AfT support for developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). This working paper has benefited from comments shared on a previous draft by a group of various stakeholders to whom we are grateful. These insights were shared at a meeting at Quaker House in Geneva on 28 October 2021. This is a work in progress and we welcome further comments. This is the fourth paper in the series on Trade and Environmental Sustainability, which also includes papers on the topics of circular economy, environmental goods and services, and fossil fuel subsidy reform.

Areas of work: Trade & Development
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Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)

Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)

This briefing note by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and Eunomia Research & Consulting presents the preliminary findings from the third phase of our “Plastic Money” initiative. Released in August 2025 to coincide with the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) on Plastic Pollution, this work continues our effort to bring clarity and evidence to the global discourse on plastic subsidies. Building on the insights and modelling from Phase 1 and Phase 2, this latest study expands the scope of analysis to include not only feedstock and energy subsidies but also a wider range of government support measures. These include capital investment grants, in-kind benefits, tax expenditures, and various forms of below-market financing. The study provides updated global estimates for such subsidies and models the environmental and economic implications of their removal. As governments work toward a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty, the role of public financial flows—including subsidies to the production of primary plastic polymers (PPP)—has come under increasing scrutiny. Subsidies reduce production costs, incentivise new investment, and help make virgin fossil-based polymers more competitive than recycled plastics and competing alternative or substitute materials. In doing so, they reinforce a linear and extractive economic model […]

Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)

QUNO Review 2025

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Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)

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Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)

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Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)

Full Report: “Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 2)”

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Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR): What is Sustainable and Just?

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