In March 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), a historic resolution 5/14 was adopted to develop an International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The instrument is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic. An Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) has been established, which has met five times to develop the specific content of the new ILBI by the end of 2024. The second part of the fifth session of the INC (INC 5.2) is scheduled to take place from August 5–14, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland. For more details about the World Bank Group’s engagement, please refer to the next tab titled “INC 5.2.”
This global momentum is matched by the growing business across the World Bank Group –with our mission to support clients tackling plastic pollution with a lifecycle approach, both in the upstream and the downstream. And this is needed as we cannot have a world without poverty in a world with plastics pollution.
Our Contribution to the INC Process
The World Bank Group has significantly expanded its role since the INC process began, taking the lead in organizing side events on key themes; convening development partners, and bringing in global knowledge and cutting-edge decision support tools. Please review the subsequent tabs to learn more about the World Bank Group’s engagements and support at each specific INC meeting.
Our Comparative Advantage
Relating to the upcoming instrument, the World Bank Group is well-positioned to work with other partners to tackle marine plastics through both catalytic and conventional financing and investments.
Across every region, the World Bank Group supports plastic pollution prevention initiatives in over 60 countries. The WBG supports countries transitioning to a circular economy and provides technical expertise and policy advice on plastic pollution prevention across many sectors, including tourism, clean energy, agriculture, and transportation.
First, we are investing in data on marine plastics sources, pathways and impacts and working with our clients to track pathways of plastics from land, through rivers, and into coastal waters. For example, we are using innovative drone surveys complemented by field assessments to identify top 10 plastic products in waterways in Cambodia, Philippines, Laos, and Vietnam. Also, case studies in Nigeria and Senegal are helping to identify pollution hotspots and analyze their sources, travel pathways through streams and on land, and overall impact to the coastal environment. The results and recommendations will help contribute to INC discussions relating to definitions, methods, baselines, and data sharing.
Second, we have developed a suite of analytical tools to support policy-making. We have the Plastic Policy Simulator tool –which is a data-driven model for policy analysis to help better understand the impacts of different policy instruments and policy packages on individual economic agents and on the plastic value chain at large. The PSTE (Plastic Substitution Tradeoff Estimator) tool evaluates the trade-offs of replacing conventional plastics with alternatives, considering environmental and economic factors. Another tool – PLASTInvest – that has been developed in collaboration with other partners identifies priority investment opportunities to advance plastic circularity. Countries can leverage these tools for improved decision making.
Third, we are supporting national plastics action plans, roadmaps to phase out single use plastics, and circular economy strategies across a range of countries. These help to identify fiscal and regulatory reforms to improve waste management, expedite the transition to a circular economy, and reduce plastics use. For example, in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, we have helped the governments to inform the implementation of their National Action Plans; in Mozambique and Malaysia we supported assessment of circular economy opportunities; in Bangladesh, we helped the government develop a plastics life cycle assessment and a roadmap/action plan to reduce marine plastics.
Fourth, we are mobilizing finance –both for the public sector (through IBRD/IDA financing) and in private sector (through IFC investments). Our investments in plastics are informed by decades of experience pollution and solid waste management. The World Bank is supporting several investments in countries through projects covering many sectors, including solid waste management with strong focus on plastic management [e.g. Cambodia, Lao and Indonesia], agriculture [such as in China], and further opportunities being identified in fisheries, tourism, river basin projects. With PROBLUE funding allocated as recipient-executed, the Bank is scaling up plastic-related components/activities into operations.
Through IFC, we are also making investments in the private sector, especially in the waste management and recycling industry. For example, IFC invested US$33 million in a recycling facility that will convert used plastic bottles into food-grade, recycled resin that will be sold to the Mexican soft-drinks bottling industry. In addition, joint market studies. In addition, the IFC is also expanding its work in helping to create markets (including on standards); creating opportunities (including partnering with private sector to identify/develop projects; providing technical and investment advice to firms entering new markets) and crystalizing opportunities (including debt and equity financing products).
Finally, we are recognized for our strong convening power, working together partners to have a stronger voice. In the plastics space too, we are relying on unlocking impact through the power of partnerships. Drawing from the proven experiences with ALDFG and Regional Collaboration, we are committed to joining efforts with the IFC to bring in the private sector, as well as with other partner agencies and organizations, with the final goal to align with the pace set by Member States and deliver impactful outcomes for their benefit.
Opportunities in ILBI Implementation
The Bank will maintain its commitment to assisting countries in prioritizing and tailoring their policies and plans for action to facilitate compliance with the international legally binding instrument, and its targets and commitments.
Irrespective of the specific content of its final provisions, implementation of the ILBI will require the adoption of national measures to fulfill the obligations laid out in the instrument. Given its experience and mandate, the World Bank Group has tremendous opportunities to customize support to negotiating countries, in ILBI implementation:
1. Help Countries Build the Evidence Base through Customized Analytics
While the ILBI will move towards core obligations and targets, an important first step will be for countries to accurately assess their baseline. Through its work with partners on harmonizing methodologies, the World Bank will help countries establish baselines, identify appropriate monitoring systems, and build capacity to measure progress on ending plastic pollution.
Additionally, the Bank could work with other organizations (including research and academia) to create/ strengthen platforms for data sharing and analytics. Further deep dives in key sectors (beyond packaging) with the IFC would help understand barriers to private sector finance and move towards unlocking new markets in plastics alternatives (upstream) and recycling and plastic waste management (downstream).
2. Provide Targeted Support to Countries in Prioritizing Policy and Investment Decisions
Ensuring compliance with core obligations agreed on in the ILBI will require countries to individually, and collectively, identify the appropriate combination of policy measures and regulations to suit their country’s context.
3. Investments for Governments and Private Sector
As countries move towards actions to tackle plastic pollution, and choose different investment strategies, World Bank financing (and with PROBLUE RETF) can be directed towards the relevant infrastructure and activities. Similarly, the IFC is now expanding its portfolio of investments in the plastics space –and helping to identify possible blue financing.
In addition to the need for national-level investments, the INC discussions have highlighted the importance of regional solutions, given the transboundary nature of plastic pollution. Building on two existing projects in Southeast Asia (Regional Program on Combating Marine Plastics – SEA-MaP) and in South Asia (Plastic Free Rivers and Seas -PLEASE), we are now exploring new regional programs in West Africa.
