BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a8e685a1e4f9 DTSTART:20210429T150000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20210429T170000Z LOCATION:Online\, SUMMARY:Webinar on promoting substitutes and alternatives to plastics for c lean waters and sustainable economic development in the Caribbean Basin CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:More than a hundred years since the first breakthroughs in plas tics\, these have become ubiquitous in our lives: Plastic pens and scissor s with plastic handles come in plastic blister packs\, which we take home in plastic bags\, where we place them next to a computer and smartphone wh ose plastic cover encases a plastic circuit board. In much of our world to day\, it can be hard to look in any direction without seeing something mad e of plastic. This material is extremely useful\; it is also\, unfortunate ly\, greatly hazardous to our health\, our livelihoods\, our food system\, and our natural environment\, and increasingly so as a century of waste a ccumulates in our landfills\, oceans and streets. New research by UNCTAD h as helped us understand the scale of the issue at hand: more than 336 mill ion tons of plastics were traded in 2018 only\, representing about $1 tril lion\, a significant 5% of world trade. A key problem is that about 75% o f all plastic ever produced has become waste\,  showing the low waste dis posal and recycling capacity of most countries. Furthermore\, unless arres ted\, plastics production is expected to quadruple in the next thirty year s\, largely due to growth in Africa\, the Middle East and developing Asia. \n\nThese problems particularly affect coastal areas\, due to their depend ence on sectors such as tourism and fishing—sectors especially hurt by p lastic bottles washing up on idyllic shores\, by plastic bags and abandone d fishing nets choking valuable fish and reducing marine biodiversity\, an d microplastics inserting toxins into the marine (and even terrestrial) fo od supply. Island and coastal countries are especially vulnerable to these hazards due\, among other reasons\, to limited space to dispose of waste. The opportunity exists that the nations of the region\, by reducing depen dence on plastics and developing in the sunrise industries of plastics alt ernatives\, may protect their countries from these environmental hazards t o which they are especially vulnerable\, protect their main sources of liv elihood\, and create useful employment and economic development.\n\nSome a lternatives already exist and may provide accessible opportunities for the sustainable development of Latin American and Caribbean nations. These in clude glass\, ceramics\, natural fibers (coconut\, palm)\, pulp (paper\, c ardboard)\, and even organic wastes such as bagasse and corn husks. Furthe rmore\, new alternatives are constantly in development\, and may provide t he region with the opportunity to enter the production of entirely new mat erials based on the former.\n\nThese alternatives may not develop unless p olitical leadership is exercised towards this end. The successful developm ent of industries to produce inputs for or finished alternatives to plasti cs would benefit from coherent trade policies\, industrial circularity\, e ffective waste management policies\, and incentives for the emergence of s ustainable plastic substitutes. The coordination of enterprise\, civil soc iety and all levels of government\, as well as global coordination\, is ne cessary if the nations of the Caribbean Basin and other Latin American cou ntries are to join the market for plastics alternatives.\n\nAware of the h azards faced and the opportunities available\, some nations in the region have already implemented measures that contribute to the transition of the ir economies towards alternatives to plastics. For example: Barbados has b anned single-use plastic containers\, cutlery and straws\, as well as some kinds of plastic bags\; Belize has issued regulations concerning plastic bags and straws\, and styrofoam vessels\; Guyana has banned the importatio n and use of styrofoam items. Such measures help create conditions where t he development of alternatives becomes necessary\, thus stirring economic action towards the search for and development of substitutes. Those nation s that choose this path may find in joining early the global move towards a circular economy an opportunity for their prosperity and wellbeing.\n\nG eneral objectives\n\nAid countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in f inding and developing pathways to environmentally sustainable prosperity b y promoting and developing alternatives to plastics\, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities available to the Caribbean and the coastal ar eas of Latin America.\n\n\nUnderstand the impact of plastic manufacture an d waste in the region\nExplore the development of alternatives to plastics as an environmental and economic opportunity for the region\, with emphas is on the Caribbean case\nExplore commercial\, industrial and trade policy options to promote the development of alternatives to plastics\nInvestiga te the role of the private sector in shaping and implementing plastics reg ulations\nExplore options to improve waste management\, reduce plastic use and increase recyclability in the region \n\n\nCentral matter\n\nDuring this virtual seminar\, we will explore the option of developing alternativ es to plastics as a way for countries in the region\, especially islands\, to prevent plastics contamination—which not only produces unsightly lit ter\, but threatens the industries of tourism and fishing\, and introduces toxins into the marine food chain—and use this as an opportunity for be coming more prosperous by joining early a growing global industry\, and a movement towards a circular economy.\n\n\nThe consequences of plastics for the lives and livelihoods of the nations of the region\nThe economic oppo rtunities afforded by developing alternatives to plastics\nPolicies to fac ilitate the development of the industry of alternatives to plastics\nExamp le of the process of transition for private enterprises in a country where some measures have already been implemented\n\n\nInformation about the ev ent\n\nIntended for: Stakeholders in leadership and policymaking for econo mic and environmental matters in the region of Latin America and the Carib bean\nFormat: Online conference with a duration of 120 minutes (90 minutes of presentations and 30 minutes of questions and answers)\, to be perform ed via Zoom\nDate and time: Thursday\, 29 April 2021\, at 11:00am Caracas - 17:00 pm Geneva\nLanguage: English (main) and Spanish (simultaneous tra nslation)\n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n<\;p>\;More than a hundred years since the first breakthroughs in plastics\, these have become ubiquitous in our lives: Plastic pens and scissors with plastic handles come in plastic blis ter packs\, which we take home in plastic bags\, where we place them next to a computer and smartphone whose plastic cover encases a plastic circuit board. In much of our world today\, it can be hard to look in any directi on without seeing something made of plastic. This material is extremely us eful\; it is also\, unfortunately\, greatly hazardous to our health\, our livelihoods\, our food system\, and our natural environment\, and increasi ngly so as a century of waste accumulates in our landfills\, oceans and st reets. New research by UNCTAD has helped us understand the scale of the is sue at hand: more than 336 million tons of plastics were traded in 2018 on ly\, representing about $1 trillion\, a significant 5%&\;nbsp\;of world trade. A key problem is that about 75% of all plastic ever produced has b ecome waste\, &\;nbsp\;showing the low waste disposal and recycling cap acity of most countries. Furthermore\, unless arrested\, plastics producti on is expected to quadruple in the next thirty years\, largely due to grow th in Africa\, the Middle East and developing Asia.<\;/p>\;\n\n<\;p& gt\;These problems particularly affect coastal areas\, due to their depend ence on sectors such as tourism and fishing—sectors especially hurt by p lastic bottles washing up on idyllic shores\, by plastic bags and abandone d fishing nets choking valuable fish and reducing marine biodiversity\, an d microplastics inserting toxins into the marine (and even terrestrial) fo od supply. Island and coastal countries are especially vulnerable to these hazards due\, among other reasons\, to limited space to dispose of waste. The opportunity exists that the nations of the region\, by reducing depen dence on plastics and developing in the sunrise industries of plastics alt ernatives\, may protect their countries from these environmental hazards t o which they are especially vulnerable\, protect their main sources of liv elihood\, and create useful employment and economic development.<\;/p> \;\n\n<\;p>\;Some alternatives already exist and may provide accessibl e opportunities for the sustainable development of Latin American and Cari bbean nations. These include glass\, ceramics\, natural fibers (coconut\, palm)\, pulp (paper\, cardboard)\, and even organic wastes such as bagasse and corn husks. Furthermore\, new alternatives are constantly in developm ent\, and may provide the region with the opportunity to enter the product ion of entirely new materials based on the former.<\;/p>\;\n\n<\;p&g t\;These alternatives may not develop unless political leadership is exerc ised towards this end. The successful development of industries to produce inputs for or finished alternatives to plastics would benefit from cohere nt trade policies\, industrial circularity\, effective waste management po licies\, and incentives for the emergence of sustainable plastic substitut es. The coordination of enterprise\, civil society and all levels of gover nment\, as well as global coordination\, is necessary if the nations of th e Caribbean Basin and other Latin American countries are to join the marke t for plastics alternatives.<\;/p>\;\n\n<\;p>\;Aware of the hazard s faced and the opportunities available\, some nations in the region have already implemented measures that contribute to the transition of their ec onomies towards alternatives to plastics. For example: Barbados has banned single-use plastic containers\, cutlery and straws\, as well as some kind s of plastic bags\; Belize has issued regulations concerning plastic bags and straws\, and styrofoam vessels\; Guyana has banned the importation and use of styrofoam items. Such measures help create conditions where the de velopment of alternatives becomes necessary\, thus stirring economic actio n towards the search for and development of substitutes. Those nations tha t choose this path may find in joining early the global move towards a cir cular economy an opportunity for their prosperity and wellbeing.<\;/p> \;\n\n<\;h4>\;General objectives<\;/h4>\;\n\n<\;p>\;Aid countr ies of Latin America and the Caribbean in finding and developing pathways to environmentally sustainable prosperity by promoting and developing alte rnatives to plastics\, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities av ailable to the Caribbean and the coastal areas of Latin America.<\;/p> \;\n\n<\;ul>\;\n<\;li>\;Understand the impact of plastic manufactu re and waste in the region<\;/li>\;\n<\;li>\;Explore the developme nt of alternatives to plastics as an environmental and economic opportunit y for the region\, with emphasis on the Caribbean case<\;/li>\;\n<\; li>\;Explore commercial\, industrial and trade policy options to promote the development of alternatives to plastics<\;/li>\;\n<\;li>\;Inv estigate the role of the private sector in shaping and implementing plasti cs regulations<\;/li>\;\n<\;li>\;Explore options to improve waste management\, reduce plastic use and increase recyclability in the region&a mp\;nbsp\;<\;/li>\;\n<\;/ul>\;\n\n<\;h4>\;Central matter<\;/ h4>\;\n\n<\;p>\;During this virtual seminar\, we will explore the op tion of developing alternatives to plastics as a way for countries in the region\, especially islands\, to prevent plastics contamination—which no t only produces unsightly litter\, but threatens the industries of tourism and fishing\, and introduces toxins into the marine food chain—and use this as an opportunity for becoming more prosperous by joining early a gro wing global industry\, and a movement towards a circular economy.<\;/p&g t\;\n\n<\;ol>\;\n<\;li>\;The consequences of plastics for the live s and livelihoods of the nations of the region<\;/li>\;\n<\;li>\;T he economic opportunities afforded by developing alternatives to plastics& lt\;/li>\;\n<\;li>\;Policies to facilitate the development of the in dustry of alternatives to plastics<\;/li>\;\n<\;li>\;Example of th e process of transition for private enterprises in a country where some me asures have already been implemented<\;/li>\;\n<\;/ol>\;\n\n<\;h 4>\;Information about the event<\;/h4>\;\n\n<\;p>\;<\;strong&g t\;Intended for: <\;/strong>\;Stakeholders in leadership and policymak ing for economic and environmental matters in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean<\;br />\;\n<\;strong>\;Format:<\;/strong>\; Online conference with a duration of 120 minutes (90 minutes of presentati ons and 30 minutes of questions and answers)\, to be performed via Zoom< \;br />\;\n<\;strong>\;Date and time: <\;/strong>\;Thursday\, 29 April&\;nbsp\;2021\, at 11:00am Caracas - 17:00 pm Geneva<\;br />\ ;\n<\;strong>\;Language:<\;/strong>\; English (main) and Spanish ( simultaneous translation)<\;/p>\;\n\n<\;h4 class="\;text-align-c enter\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/node/32556 DTSTAMP:20260826T041522Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR