Early 2023, GRID-Arendal in a partnership with University of Wollongong has initiated a project looking into the science-policy interface for plastic pollution. The project aimed to 1) identify the needs for scientific and technical information relevant to the effective functioning of the plastics instrument and the possible functions needed to deliver them, and 2) consider how the work of the Science-Policy Panel and the plastics instrument can connect and complement each other.
As part of the preparation process, an Advisory Group on science-policy interface for the new plastics agreement was established to provide relevant voluntary inputs to the report. The Advisory Group consisted of representatives from Member States, civil society, academia and other relevant institutions.
The outcome of the project is the report “Science-policy interface for plastic pollution”. The report provides a sound, critical and timely contribution, addressing the scientific and technical support needed by decision-makers in the context of ongoing international negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The report not only lays the groundwork on the needs for a Science-Policy Panel, but also draws lessons from well-established panels such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The report launch was organised in the framework of the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues and hosted by Geneva Environment Network on the 7th of November 2023
