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Indonesia urged to step up in plastic treaty negotiations
Environmentalists are pushing Indonesia to be more proactive in the negotiations for the world's first treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution and spurring plastic waste diplomacy in Southeast Asia, a region heavily impacted by the matter.
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Kicking off: Guests gather prior to the opening of the fifth session of United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) in Busan, South Korea, on Nov. 25. (AFP/Anthony Wallace)
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s the final round of talks for the world’s first treaty to curb plastic pollution kicks off in South Korea, Indonesia is urged to take a more active role in the agreement as part of an effort to protect the people from the impacts of plastic waste that has been harming the country’s environment.
The meeting in Busan, officially named the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5), aims at negotiating a new global plastics treaty following the adoption of a United Nations Environment Assembly’s resolution to end plastic pollution.
The negotiations in South Korea are focused primarily on four issues, namely plastic production; plastic waste management; financing and other assistance to curb plastic pollution; and national implementation and compliance. Should the final text covering these issues not be agreed upon by Sunday, the negotiations may be extended until delegates reach an agreement.
Ahead of the Busan summit, Greenpeace Southeast Asia urged the delegates to agree to produce a global plastic pollution treaty that aims to solve the problem from the upstream to the downstream.
Read also: Indonesia urged to commit to protecting, restoring nature in COP29
Widely considered as a middle power country joining several multilateral groups including the Group of 20 (G20), Indonesia has an important and strategic role in pushing for plastic diplomacy, especially in the region, said Rayhan Dudayev, a campaigner with Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
He urged Indonesian delegates in Busan to focus on four aspects in the treaty: A global target for plastic production reduction, a global target for plastic reuse, restriction on single-use plastic products and payment from polluters to fund efforts to curb plastic waste.
