Circular Economy and International Trade: Opportunities & Challenges for South Asia

After our past World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2022 Side Events' Success ("Circular Economy Policies and Legislation: Experiences from Emerging Economies" and "Trade and Circular Value Chains: Opportunities for Emerging Economies"), we partnered again with Chatham House and UNCTAD as co-hosts and International Trade Center and the European Environmental Bureau as our knowledge partners for the "Circular Economy and International Trade: Opportunities & Challenges for South Asia" WCEF2022 Side Event supported by Sitra.
 

As a region with numerous developing countries, South Asia's economies are rising with diverse economies and exports. This event focused on the importance of international trade and regulation focusing on South Asia's regional plastics sector, for a more accelerated transition to a circular economy. 

 

As the role of trade policy and regulation becomes more clear, understanding their opportunities and challenges is critical for policymakers to effectively support a circular economy transition. Trade can provide potential opportunities for a global circular economy by directing plastic waste and materials to destinations where there is a comparative advantage in sorting and processing these materials. This is only one of many potential opportunities. The event explored what can be influenced by the linkages between trade and the environment within the plastics sector.

 

The first panel session focused on plastics value chains. Regional plastics experts shared their on-ground experiences in circularity within plastics.

 

In the second panel session, regional circular economy experts discussed how circular economy policies can promote circular trade in South Asia. They shared their experiences with the enforcement of circular policies in the region as well as examples of harmonized approaches in the ASEAN community to foster the trade of circular goods.

 

This side event was especially relevant ahead of and the findings will feed into the WCEF2022 Main Event on Trade and Circular Economy led by Chatham House from the 6th to the 8th of December in Kigali, Rwanda.