联合国贸易发展委员会-全球贸易更新（2025年8月）：动员贸易遏制塑料污染（英）

Mobilising trade to curb plastic pollutionKEY TAKEAWAYS Global plastics trade topped $1.1 trillion in 2023, equivalent to 323 millions of metric tons. Over 78% of plastics produced are traded internationally.75% of all plastic ever produced ends up as waste.Although exports of non-plastic substitutes reached $485 billion in 2023, their tariff – double those of conventional plastics – undermine the shift to greener alternatives.Plastic pollution is a borderless crisis, and trade must be part of the solution. We need a Global Plastic Treaty that harnesses trade and investment policies, and the use of digital customs tools, to facilitate a just transition that reduces plastics pollution.Policy Insights©Henrique-Pacini–UNCTADMonthly publication analysing trade policy and global trade dataA U G U S T 2 0 2 5Global tradeupdateA U G U S T 2 0 2 52Global tradeupdatePolicy insightsPlastic pollution: An urgent trade and development threatFew materials have transformed the global economy as rapidly as plastics. Lightweight, durable and cheap to produce, plastics are embedded in every sector and supply chain. However, plastics generate significant pollution and impose steep social and environmental costs, estimated at over $ 1.5 trillion annually.1 While international agreements exist for biodiversity protection - the Convention on Biological Diversity - and climate change - the Paris Agreement - there is no comprehensive global agreement yet to respond to the cross-cutting challenges of plastic pollution. Only partial elements are covered in existing multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).This critical gap is now the focus of the International Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), mandated by the United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution 5/14 in 2022 to develop an International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The latest round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in August 2025 in Geneva, marking a pivotal moment in the global effort to tackle plastic pollution.Plastics contribute to the triple planetary crisis of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change:• Annually, at least 1,400 wildlife species are negatively impacted by plastic pollution.2 • Most plastics (98 per cent) are derived from fossil fuels, generating 1.96 gigaton (Gt) of CO2 equivalent, while incineration of plastic waste releases significant Greenhouse gases (GHGs) and toxic pollutants.3• A majority of plastic waste leaks into terrestrial and marine environments, frequently crossing borders.• Coastal developing countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are disproportionately impacted by plastic pollution they do not generate.• The impacts on developing countries are exacerbated by limited capacity to collect, reuse, recycle and properly dispose of end-of-life plastics.1 Landrigan, P.J., Raps, H., Cropper, M., Bald, C., Brunner, M., Canonizado, E.M. et al. (2023). The Min-deroo-Monaco Commission on P