Global challenge on plastic pollution: To what extent is trade an effective instrument of plastic pollution control?

The ongoing global initiatives on plastic pollution by the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic
Pollution and WTO Plastics Dialogue respectively represent drastic efforts aimed at climate conservation. This paper
raises the fears that the success of this seemingly laudable UN initiative may be inhibited by the same perennial
factors, which previously militated against similar environmental instruments, such as the Copenhagen/Cancun
Accords, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement. This paper argues that rather than initiating a new multilateral treaty
on plastic pollution, the WTO trade policy framework offers an effective instrument to achieve a more functional and
productive plastic pollution control. The study seeks to provide a fresh perspective and strategy in utilizing the
existing trade framework to harmonize international plastics intervention. The paper suggests and concludes that
owing to the effectiveness of WTO and the proliferation of other Free Trade Agreements, trade policy can be
deployed towards achieving holistic and effective regulation and policy on plastics.