{"id":63512,"date":"2024-04-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/?p=63512"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:33:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T07:33:09","slug":"greenpeace-philippines-communities-strong-global-plastics-treaty-still-within-reach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/press\/63512\/greenpeace-philippines-communities-strong-global-plastics-treaty-still-within-reach\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenpeace Philippines, communities: Strong Global Plastics Treaty still within reach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Twenty-four hours before the end of the negotiations for a Plastics Treaty at the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4), Greenpeace Canada activists hung a banner on the Mackenzie King Bridge, right next to the Shaw Center, where world delegations are gathered. The 14-meter banner read \u201cPeople over polluters: Cut plastic production now!\u201d and followed the release of an analysis revealing a rise in industry lobby presence at the negotiations. Photo by Greenpeace \/ Matthew Kemp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

QUEZON CITY, Philippines (23 April 2024) \u2014 A global treaty that cuts plastic production and ends single-use plastic pollution is still within reach and governments have a duty to do all they can to secure it, said Greenpeace International and community representatives at a press conference today. Campaigners and activists from impacted communities, including the Philippines, said Member States must ensure the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) meeting in Ottawa this week secures an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty that reduces plastic production and ends single-use plastics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPeople want a livable planet free of plastic pollution\u2014and that’s what the Global Plastics treaty needs to deliver. As plastic production rises, the impacts across the plastic lifecycle on our health, environment, and climate intensify, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable groups and the Global South\u201d said Marian Ledesma, Greenpeace Philippines Zero Waste Campaigner<\/strong>, who is part of the Greenpeace International INC-4 delegation. \u201cOur recent Greenpeace International poll shows that people\u2014particularly in the Philippines and Global South\u2014recognize what’s at stake. To maintain a livable planet and an equitable future for all, the treaty must cut plastic production by 75% by 2040 and transition to a reuse-based economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Earlier this month, a Greenpeace International poll report<\/a> revealed that 94 percent of Filipino respondents support cutting plastic production. The survey, which was conducted across 19 countries, also showed almost 9 in 10 Filipinos support a ban on single-use plastic packaging.<\/p>\n\n

Reacting to this, communities here in the Philippines voiced their support for a strong plastics treaty that prioritizes the interests of those most vulnerable to plastic impacts, particularly in the Global South.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAng plastic pollution ay isa sa mga malalaking problema sa ating mundo ngayon, pati na rin dito sa aming lugar. Nakakapagdulot siya ng baha sa aming kalsada at kadalasan naaapektuhan ang schedule ng aming collection at monitoring,\u201d said Aloja Santos, Founding President of the newly formed Philippine National Waste Workers\u2019 Alliance (PNWWA), and President of Dumaguete Women Waste Workers Association<\/strong>. \u201cSumasang-ayon ako na ibalik ang <\/em>refill at<\/em> reuse para mabawasan ang mga basura at maibalik ang ating kinalakhan na tradisyon<\/em> […] Ang kasunduang ipapatupad ay dapat bigyan ng ipin upang malimitahan ang paggamit ng<\/em> plastic at hindi na makadagdag sa kasalukuyang polusyon<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

(Plastic pollution is one of the big problems in our world now, including in our area. It causes floods in our streets and usually affects the schedule of our [waste] collection and monitoring. I agree with returning to refill and reuse to reduce waste and bring back the tradition we grew up with. The treaty that will be implemented should have teeth, so plastic use can be limited and not add to the current pollution.)<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBilang mga mangingisda, susuportahan namin ang mga kasunduan at mga polisiya na naglalayong limitahan and pag-produce ng mga single-use na plastic,\u201d said Edlyn Rosales, Chairperson of the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Mangingisda Pangisda (PANGISDA)-Bataan<\/strong>. \u201cDahil sa mga malalaking producer lang nakasalalay ang dami ng produksyon, naniniwala ako na ang pangunahing dahilan ng pagkakaroon ng plastic pollution ay walang iba kung hindi ang mga corporations na ito. Ang pag-unti-unting pagbabawas nito ay isang napakalaking ginhawa sa aming mga mangingisda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

(As fisherfolk, we support treaties and policies seeking to limit single-use plastic production. Because the amount of [plastic] produced relies on the big [plastic] producers, I believe that the main reason why plastic pollution exists is none other than these corporations. The gradual reduction [of plastics] is a great relief to us fisherfolk.)<\/p>\n\n

Recognizing that the Global Plastics Treaty is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the plastic pollution crisis head-on, Greenpeace demands that at INC-4, Member States:<\/p>\n\n