Geneva, Sustainable and Just Economic Systems

September 2024

Trade Issues and the International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution: A Legal Analysis

Authored by Dr. Alexandra Harrington, the report provides a critical examination of the intersection between international trade law and the proposed global treaty to end plastic pollution (ILBI), currently under negotiation.

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September 2024

New Brief: "Trade Issues and the International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution: A Legal Analysis"

As part of QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme and the Uncommon Collaborations initiative, we are pleased to announce the release of a new brief titled Trade Issues and the International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution: A Legal Analysis. Authored by Dr. Alexandra Harrington, the report provides a critical examination of the intersection between international trade law and the proposed global treaty to end plastic pollution (ILBI), currently under negotiation.

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August 2024

New Report: "Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 1)"

QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme, in partnership with Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd., has published the Phase 1 Report of their project titled Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap. This report represents a crucial step in uncovering the extensive subsidies received by the primary plastics polymer (PPP) production industry, a sector that plays a pivotal role in global plastic pollution.

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May 2024

QUNO Updates from INC-4 in Ottawa: Navigating Complexities Towards a Global Plastics Treaty

As the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution concluded in Ottawa, Canada, it highlighted significant contrasts in the negotiation dynamics. Despite the shared urgency to address global plastic pollution, diverging views on the approach and scope of the treaty underscored the session.

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April 2024

QUNO hosts meeting of minds on plastic pollution in Bellagio

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) organised an influential residential workshop at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center, on Lake Como, Italy, entitled “Plastic Money: Turning off the Subsidies Tap” from 26 to 30 March 2024. 

QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems (SJES) programme took the lead on this event and brought together a diverse group of 21 stakeholders. This included government representatives, inter-governmental bodies, legal scholars and social scientists, non-governmental organisations, and experts from charitable foundations. 

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March 2024

Advocating for Ambition: QUNO and Partners Urge Switzerland to Lead in Plastic Treaty Negotiations

 

Ahead of the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) for a global plastics treaty, scheduled in Ottawa, Canada, from April 23 to 29, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO), in collaboration with a coalition of civil society organizations and international entities, drafted a letter urging the Swiss government to adopt an ambitious stance in the negotiations. This initiative, part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), aims to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (ILBI).

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November 2023

New Report: Strategies for Asian countries to end plastic pollution

Against the backdrop of Asia’s struggle with burgeoning plastic waste, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) has published a new report that delves into the complex challenges and potential strategies for addressing this problem in the region.

QUNO’s report, ‘Trade and Plastics — Fostering Sustainable Development in South East Asia’, was issued by its Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme this month (November).

It focuses on plastic pollution in Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam and highlights the pressing need for systemic changes. 

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November 2023

New Report: Strategies for Asian Countries to End Plastic Pollution

Against the backdrop of Asia’s struggle with burgeoning plastic waste, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) has published a new report that delves into the complex challenges and potential strategies for addressing this problem in the region.

QUNO’s report, ‘Trade and Plastics — Fostering Sustainable Development in South East Asia’, was issued by its Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme this month (November).

It focuses on plastic pollution in Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam and highlights the pressing need for systemic changes. 

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November 2023

INC-3: Plastic pollution meetings need direction to avoid failure

The recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meeting on ending plastic pollution raised concerns about the pace and direction of negotiations to finalise a legally binding treaty.

This was UNEP’s third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee — it was called INC-3 — and it concluded last week in Kenya, Nairobi. INC aims to gather various stakeholders to create an agreement that would hold governments accountable to enforce laws to curb plastic pollution.

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September 2023

QUNO’s Contributions to INC-3 Webinar Series on Plastic Pollution

In preparation for the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Develop an International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment (INC-3), taking place from November 13-19, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya, the INC Secretariat facilitated a series of technical webinars. Two of these sessions allowed observers to present submissions that could inform the committee's work.

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August 2023

QUNO's INC-3 Submission on Reuse, Refill, and the Midstream Segment of Plastic Lifecycle

At its second session, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee requested the Secretariat to invite written submissions on (a) Elements not discussed at INC-2, such as principles and scope of the instrument (using Template A), and (b) Any potential areas for inter-sessional work compiled by the cofacilitators of the two contact groups, to inform the work of INC-3 (using  Template B).

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June 2023

QUNO's Role at the Paris INC: Shaping Global Solutions to End Plastic Pollution

Ending plastic pollution globally remains a top priority for the Sustainable and Just Economic Systems (SJES) programme at the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Recently, SJES participated in the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) focused on a treaty to end plastic pollution. This initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded in Paris at the beginning of June, gathering various civil society organisations lobbying to end plastic pollution.

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April 2023

Upcoming Event: Webinar and Quiet Diplomacy Dinner on Trade-Related Measures for a Treaty to End Plastic Pollution

We would like to inform you of an upcoming event on the 26th of April 2023, co-hosted by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). The event will consist of a follow-up webinar from 4-6 pm CET, focusing on trade-related measures in the context of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) towards a treaty to end plastic pollution. Following the webinar, a quiet diplomacy dinner will be held at Quaker House in Geneva, starting at 7:15 pm.

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March 2023

Rethinking Plastic Pollution Solutions: QUNO's Insights on Policy Interventions and Reuse Systems at WTO Dialogue

On 16 February 2023, Mr. Andres Naranjo, the Programme Associate for QUNO's Sustainable and Just Economic Systems (SJES), presented at the pre-plenary session of the WTO Dialogue on Plastic Pollution, offering insights on waste regulations and plastic pollution management based on the findings of QUNO's recently-released report, "Package-less and Reuse Systems Through Policy Intervention: rethinking packaging in international trade."

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December 2022

REPORT: "Package-less and Reuse Systems Through Policy Intervention: rethinking packaging in international trade"

With quantities of waste steadily rising worldwide, packaging material and packaging waste have emerged as critical areas for action at various levels. Governments and businesses must consider political risks and ways to anticipate, understand and mitigate them in international trade. 

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November 2022

QUNO highlights the role of the informal waste sector in African inclusive circular economy transitions

QUNO has partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF South Africa) to demonstrate how the informal waste sector (IWS) can be mainstreamed into policy mechanisms and implementation efforts designed to address plastic pollution. 

At our joint webinar on 7 November 2022 we brought together specialists including reclaimer advocates, county-level officials, academics and just transition experts.

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