The second meeting of the International Negotiations Committee (INC-2) had lofty ambitions. But the first three days of these Plastics Treaty negotiations were mired in political antics…making many representatives from Asia feel as though they were back to square one of just talk and no action on dealing with the plastic crisis. And it seems that two camps have surfaced in these negotiations: Those that want the treaty to be voluntary commitments like the climate change Paris agreement, and those who want a treaty with more teeth and regulations. Any commitments under the global plastic treaty will eventually be adopted as national targets by the signatory countries, and then translated into National Action Plans to implement programs and strategies for meeting these targets. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is planning on finalizing the treaty by 2024 over the next few INC meetings…and committed at INC-2 to make the first draft treaty to discuss at INC-3. So to continue our focus on how reuse, reduce and refill will be highlighted in the treaty negotiations…. we wanted to bring back Marian Ledesma Zero Waste Campaigner with/ Greenpeace Southeast Asia in Manila. Marian attended the INC-22 meetings in Paris, and we wanted to get her thoughts on how that went. We also invited Christina Dixon, Oceans Campaign Leader from the Environmental Investigation Agency to talk in more detail about the action steps and types of language needed to get the treaty moving in the reuse, refill and repair direction. To wrap up we talk about what you listeners can do to support their efforts at the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations….Production credits:Host: Marcy Trent LongProducer: Carol MangContributing Editor: Jill BaxterIntro outro music: Alex MauboussinSign up to find out when new Sustainable Asia seasons are launched!We have partnered with Break Free From Plastic (BFFP), headquartered in Asia, to produce this series. BFFP has numerous resources on their website about the Global Plastics Treaty and the Reuse | Refill | Repair initiative:https: www.breakfreefromplastic.org plastics-treaty https: www.breakfreefromplastic.org 2023 04 28 youth-summit-2023-global-plastics-treaty Video Credits: UNEP: "A once in a planet opportunity" Inger Andersen, INC-2 | Paris, France

A bonus episode about the Global Plastics Treaty from one of my favorite podcasts called Plastisphere. It’s run by Anja Krieger in Berlin, and like Sustainable Asia, Plastisphere really looks at the science behind this plastic waste crisis. I thought listeners would appreciate this episode, as it gives a great background to the Global Plastics Treaty. In the past months, Anja asked scientists and experts to send her their thoughts and demands. In this episode, you’ll get to hear messages from Richard Thompson, Bethany Carney Almroth, Sonia Dias, Tridibesh Dey, Martin Wagner, Trisia Farrelly, Rebecca Altman and Lesley Henderson.Plastisphere is a research and interview podcast by Anja Krieger, published in the spirit of the gift economy. Please rate and review the podcast and support the production costs via PayPal: plastisphere.earth support Transcript with links to music and sources: anjakrieger.com plastisphere 2023…13-plastictreaty Subscribe: www.plastisphere.earthTheme song: Dorian RoyMusic: Blue Dot Sessions www.sessions.blue UNEP video 1: www.youtube.com watch?v=28mNomsFsFYUNEP video 2: www.youtube.com watch?v=N_GSIL0lLDsThanks for kind permission, additional audio and images to Miranda Grant, Ahmed Yusuf and the UNEP press team.Cover art: Maren von StockhausenThanks to: Baldeep KaurFollow regular updates on Mastodon: @[email protected] occasional posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @PlastispherePod

We need other solutions to the plastic waste crisis. Solutions that involve reduce, reuse, refill and repair here in Asia. And those types of solutions…need to be included in the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations. The Global Plastics Treaty agreement is not a mechanism to control plastic waste. It is a roadmap for the world to control the life cycle of plastics that have come to dominate our natural environment and impact our health in ways we still don’t fully understand.So that’s what we are going to talk about in this episode. Luckily, I had the opportunity to speak with two incredibly knowledgeable people about this. Marian Ledesma, Zero Waste Campaigner with Greenpeace Southeast Asia based in Manila, who will be attending the INC-2 meetings in Paris next week. Greenpeace Southeast Asia is a Break Free From Plastic member organization, and Marian has a deep knowledge of the plastic crisis here in Asia, as well as how to focus policies so that single use plastic…with all of its health and environmental impacts…can be eliminated from our lives. My other guest Darina Maulana, of Enviu Indonesia based in Jakarta, works with startups in the reuse and refill space in Indonesia. She has a hands-on view of what types of programs and regulations work in megacities in Asia…so that single use plastic consumption can be dramatically reduced…if not totally eliminated!To wrap up we talk about what you listeners can do to support their efforts at the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations….Production credits:Host: Marcy Trent LongProducer: Carol MangContributing Editor: Jill BaxterIntro/outro music: Alex MauboussinSign up to find out when new Sustainable Asia seasons are launched!Resources:We have partnered with Break Free From Plastic (BFFP), headquartered in Asia, to produce this series. BFFP has numerous resources on their website about the Global Plastics Treaty and the Reuse | Refill | Repair initiative:https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/plastics-treaty/https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/2023/04/28/youth-summit-2023-global-plastics-treaty/Video Credits: UN Agrees to Roadmap for global plastic pollution treaty, The WorldThe Truth About Plastic Recycling..It’s Complicated, Undecided with Matt Ferrell

The Global Plastics Treaty negotiations kicked off! This is a historic moment for Asia, because after decades of plastic waste washing up on their shores…finally..there may be a path forward. Join us as we talk to BFFP members and other experts about each INC meeting, to find out what YOU can do to support their work at the treaty negotiations.Production credits:Host: Marcy Trent LongProducer: Carol MangContributing Editor: Jill BaxterIntro/outro music: Alex MauboussinSign up to find out when new Sustainable Asia seasons are launched!Resources:We have partnered with Break Free From Plastic (BFFP), headquartered in Asia, to produce this series. BFFP has numerous resources on their website about the Global Plastics Treaty and the Reuse | Refill | Repair initiative:https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/plastics-treaty/https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/2023/04/28/youth-summit-2023-global-plastics-treaty/Video Credits: We urgently need a Global Plastics Treaty. Here's why. By Greenpeace International

Our focus in this episode is livestock…specifically dairy products made from cows. It turns out enteric fermentation, the cow's digestive process of turning grass into food, contributes to over 40% of global emissions from the livestock supply chain. And the US is a major producer and consumer of beef and dairy products…with China slowly catching up. How are the two global food superpowers innovating ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cows?Guests (in order of appearance): Roberta Franco, California Department of Food and AgricultureErmias Kebreab, University of California at DavisMeian Chen, Innovative Green Development Program in ChinaLiu Ying, Former Director of the Biogas Institute of the Ministry of AgricultureLi Ying, The Nature Conservancy in ChinaMatthew Harrison, California Air Resources BoardProduction credits:Executive Producer: Marcy Trent LongCo-Host and Producer: Chermaine LeeSound Engineer: EstimaAssociate Producers: Sam LiXiaoYu, Zack Chiang, Lara-Nour WaltonMusic Composition: Cole Chiu Contributing Editor: Jill BaxterIntro/outro music: Alex MauboussinSign up to find out when new Sustainable Asia seasons are launchedResources:This podcast series is part of a Wilson Center China Environment Forum and Ohio State University initiative called Cultivating U.S. and Chinese Climate Leadership on Food and Agriculture. The initiative explores the actions both these “food superpowers” are taking to rein in agri-food greenhouse gas emissions and identifies potential areas of mutual learning and collaboration.Blogs from the China Environment Forum:Soil’s Key Role in Fighting Climate Change in U.S. and Chinese Agriculture: The Wisdom of Dr. Rattan LalMilking the Dairy Industry for Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions in ChinaRice: A Recipe for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U. S. and China?The Forgotten Greenhouse Gas: Nitrous Oxide as an Issue for U.S. and Chinese AgricultureFarming Our Future Carbon Neutral Agriculture in the US and ChinaChina Environment Forum Webinars:Reining in the Methane Hoofprint of Cows in CaliforniaThe Blue Planet Turns Green: Algae Fouls Waters as the World Struggles to Grow More Food in a Changing ClimateOpportunities for Enhanced Near-term U.S.-China Climate Action: The Food SystemDigging into Soil for Food Security and Climate: A Green Tea Chat With Rattan Lal, 2020 World Food Prize WinnerMapping China’s Pathway to a Carbon-neutral Food SystemClimate Action Down on the Farm: Food and Climate Nexus Opportunities in China and the USLOGO images Created by Jennifer Nguyen and Ann WilliamsCartoon tractor is from NatBasil/Shutterstock, farmer from CanvaVideo Clip of cow sounds: Cargill Backs Cow Masks to Trap Methane Burps by Bloomberg Quicktake