Polution Archives - WITA

The Role of International Trade in Realizing an Inclusive Circular Economy

Maya Ghazi — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 14:44:51 +0000

The transition to a circular economy is essential to address the triple threat of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss. International trade will play a key role in delivering this transition, as no single country can achieve a circular economy alone. Currently, the distribution of value from circular trade is highly uneven, with the Global North accruing most of the economic gains while the Global South bears most of the environmental and human costs. Greater collaboration at the global level is therefore necessary to prevent the development of a circular trade divide.

Despite the importance of the circular economy in achieving global environmental and human development goals, there remains limited awareness or understanding among trade actors. To address this knowledge gap, this research paper presents a working definition of circular trade and outlines the main types of circular trade flow in goods, services, materials and intellectual property. The paper then explores the main benefits and challenges of each flow, before proposing a pathway to collective action to ensure that global trade enables fair, inclusive and circular societies.

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By Dr. Jack Barrie, Research Fellow, Environment and Society Programme. Dr Patrick Schröder, Senior Research Fellow, Environment and Society Programme. Marianne Schneider-Petsinger, Senior Research Fellow, Global Economy and Finance Programme; Project Director, Global Trade Policy Forum. Richard King, Senior Research Fellow, Environment and Society Programme. Professor Tim Benton, Research Director, Emerging Risks; Director, Environment and Society Programme.

To read the full report from Chatham House, click here.

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Climate Change and Sustainability: Mediterranean Perspectives

Jude Althagafi — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 19:42:26 +0000

This volume examines the challenges and interlinkages between climate change and sustainable development across the Mediterranean, where the climate crisis is further aggravating pre-existing political, social, economic and environmental fragilities. The research takes stock of present realities and seeks to identify priority areas of engagement while promoting better understandings of the nature and implications of this multidimensional relationship. Recognised as a climate change “hotspot”, this region is particularly exposed to the climate emergency and its cascading effects on human security and development. Rising temperatures, declining precipitation and increased pollution, combined with urbanisation and demographic growth, are adding significant stress to state and societal resilience. Individual chapters address the relationship between climate change and the water-food nexus across Mediterranean states; the promise and obstacles to digital agriculture as a way to improve yield outputs while diminishing negative externalities; the challenges of plastic pollution and waste in the Mediterranean region and the impact that impending energy transitions, including in the domain of the European Green Deal, may have on sustainable development across Mediterranean states.

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To read the full report from Istituto Affari Internazionali, please click here.

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Plastics, the Circular Economy and Global Trade

Emma Donahue — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 15:28:27 +0000

Plastic pollution has become a pressing challenge with damaging effects on human health and environmental well-being. Many governments are seeking ways to decrease single-use plastics and firms are working towards developing more closed-loop plastics to build sustainable value chains. There remains, however, a pressing need to ramp up the “3Rs” – reduce, reuse, and recycle. There is an important cross-border component to doing so.

In 2019, the 187 parties to the Basel Convention – a treaty on the transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous and other wastes – added most types of plastic waste to controlled wastes. From 2021, plastic waste that is sorted, clean, uncontaminated and effectively designed for recycling can be traded freely, while other types will require the consent of importing and transit countries.

These changes could prove effective in improving plastic waste management and reducing leakage into the environment. Yet, without additional implementation efforts, there is the risk that increased trade frictions will stymie global plastics recycling markets. Trade facilitation measures to aid plastic reduction and re-use have also not been enough in focus in a world of global value chains.

This briefing note draws on the expertise of trade and environment experts from across the plastics value chain to identify the key cross-border challenges to scaling a more circular economy for plastics. It also provides basic trade and investment solutions for tackling these challenges and opens the door for further multistakeholder collaboration to build a sustainable circular plastics economy.

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To view the original report, click here.

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