WRI Indonesia and Indonesia NPAP attend INC-5, Encouraging Actions to End Plastic Pollution

Busan, 24 November-1 December 2024, Busan, 24 November – 1 December 2024, World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia, as an accredited observer for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and also the secretariat of Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP), took part and also organized various strategic activities during the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5). The INC-5 is planned to be the last convening negotiating session in developing an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, including marine debris.

EPR, Loans & Plastic Credits - Financing Solutions for Indonesia and Other Emerging Markets

Busan, 24 November 2024 – PCX Markets, in collaboration with SecondMuse Capital, PCX Solutions, WRI Indonesia, and Indonesia NPAP, organized a side-event titled “EPR, Loans, & Plastic Credits – Financing Solutions for Indonesia and Other Emerging Markets.” The session features Indonesia NPAP’s Community Coordinator, Bunga Karnisa, along with several other notable speakers such as:

• Rofi Alhanif, Coordinating Ministry of Food Affairs, Republic of Indonesia
• Roger Joseph Guzman, Environmental Policy Specialist, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Adijoyo Prakoso, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Duitin
• Simon Baldwin, Senior Vice President for APAC, SecondMuse
• Stefanie Beitein, Managing Director and Board Member for PCX Solutions

The session explores Indonesia’s need for USD18 billion in capital investment for its waste management system to achieve the ambition of reducing 70% plastic leakage by 2025 and near-zero by 2040 while achieving a circular economy for plastic. Despite the high commitments, investment remains low due to ambiguity in the waste management and infrastructure policies. 

Moreover, the session also explores the role of extended producer responsibility (EPR), zero-interest loans, and plastic credits for the recycling sector. These discussion topics also touched upon financing access to enable small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to scale and incentivize investments in infrastructure and waste management alternatives.

Networking Session of Indonesia NPAP Members and Partners

Busan, 25 November 2024 – Indonesia NPAP and WRI Indonesia co-hosted a “Networking Session of Indonesia NPAP Members and Partners” on the sideline of INC-5. As the first country with its National Plastic Action Partnership, the platform has a critical role in facilitating the transition towards sustainable practice and plastic circularity in Indonesia to support the government targets.

“Indonesia was the first country to join GPAP at the global level in 2019, marking a significant milestone in the fight against plastic pollution. Through Indonesia NPAP, the plastic action agenda has made tangible progress, driven by the commitment and collaboration of its members who have contributed tirelessly through various task forces.” Said Clemence Schmid, Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) Director, World Economic Forum (WEF).

Since 2019, Indonesia NPAP has been actively convening national stakeholders to encourage and kindle collaborations. Since then, Indonesia NPAP has grown to 112 members with over 300 individual representatives.

“The success of Indonesia's NPAP stems from the government's strong leadership, WRI Indonesia's policy expertise, and WEF's business partnership capabilities. We aim to assist Indonesia in viewing the Global Plastic Treaty not as a challenge, but as an opportunity to attract new investments and achieve industrial innovation, setting an example for ASEAN and the international community.” Said Dr. Kyung-Nam Shin, Assistant Director-General and Head of Investment and Policy Solutions Division, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

As the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations is coming towards its end, it is important to recognize to involve all relevant stakeholders to ensure meaningful participation and effective implementation of the instrument. 

“As a multistakeholder platform, Indonesia NPAP could play a key role to ensure the readiness of Indonesian stakeholders towards the Global Plastic Treaty by raising awareness on its potential implications and building capacity to implement the treaty.” Said Rofi Alhanif, Assistant Deputy for Circular Economy Development and Environmental Impact, Coordinating Ministry of Food Affairs

Moving forward, Indonesia NPAP will establish a thematic working group that would help facilitate and strengthen cross-task force collaboration to foster targeted partnerships on specific waste management issues. These working groups would allow members to collaborate and mobilize necessary resources based on shared interest, co-design, and joint implementation.

Since 2023, Indonesia NPAP has been collecting, mapping, and analyzing commitments and initiatives from non-state actors, resulting in a comprehensive dataset that includes financial pledges, advanced recycling projects, and strategies to reduce plastic pollution.

Non-state actors are vital in Indonesia’s efforts to reduce plastic pollution and transition to a circular economy. Together with the government, they will drive the national implementation of the treaty, ensuring that Indonesia meets its targets while fostering sustainable, inclusive solutions across all sectors.

“As the country takes action to reduce plastic waste and promote circular economy practices, Indonesia’s success will depend on the ongoing partnership of all sectors. The involvement of non-state actors and multistakeholder platforms ensures that the transition to a plastic-free, sustainable future is equitable, effective, and impactful for all Indonesians.” Said Lucia Karina, Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications, Sustainability, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Indonesia  

Navigating Just Transition to Deliver Global Plastic Treaty In Indonesia (As part of Rethinking Plastic Life Event)

Busan, 26 November 2024 – WRI Indonesia, facilitated by the Indonesia NPAP, organized a session titled “Navigating Just Transition to Deliver Global Plastic Treaty in Indonesia,” which is also a part of the Rethinking Plastic Life event series that was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea. Plastic serves a central role in the world economy, and considerations towards social inclusion within an economic transition are vital to ensure that no one is left behind. 

Indonesia is one of the largest plastic-consuming countries, with the majority of its products used in packaging and automotive manufacturing. The reliance on plastic is reflected in the amount of plastic waste it produces, which is around 6.8 million tons (2022); 70% of that number is improperly managed. 

“A just transition is not merely an economic shift. It ensures sustainability while also accommodating the needs of the most vulnerable group affected by this transition, such as informal workers, workers of upstream industries, and consumers.” Rofi Alhanif, Assistant Deputy for Circular Economy Development and Environmental Impact, Coordinating Ministry of Food Affairs

The informal sector's contributions to Indonesia’s waste management sector often go unrecognized by the policymakers as this profession often goes unregulated, leading to poor wages and dangerous working conditions. Moreover, the lack of data transparency and traceability from the informal sector poses an additional challenge to ensure a just plastic transition. 

“Many countries lack information about the informal waste sector, rendering the workforce essentially invisible from a data perspective. Meaningful implementation of the treaty would require indicators to track the contributions of the informal sector to society, the environment and the economy, integration of waste workers into national action plans and a financial mechanism to ensure these initiatives are adequately sourced.” Said Bella Charlesworth, Research Associate, UNSW Centre for Development Reform.

With the treaty aiming to end plastic pollution, there is a need to recognize on what it means to be just. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the implementation of a stringent is projected to cause a 0.5% global GPD loss, with a higher estimate of developing countries that will need to upgrade their waste management system.

“To ensure that the implementation of the global plastic treaty is just, there is a need to identify the sectors that are impacted by the treaty, analyze how they are impacted, and formulate an approach to alleviate or compensate for the loss due to the transition towards plastic pollution free future and circular economy. This identification will need to consider the impact towards socio-economical factors and the environment.” Rocky Pairunan, Ocean and Plastic Waste Manager, WRI Indonesia.

The treaty's implementation will affect workers in the upstream and downstream sectors of the plastic industry, from the informal workers, factory workers, consumers, retailers, and society as a whole. 

On the bright side, with challenges, the implementation of the global plastic treaty also poses a significant economic opportunity for Indonesia. The treaty could push and incentivize alternative business models through reuse solutions to compensate for GDP loss due to the reduction of multilayered layer plastics (MLP) usage. MLPs are often considered worthless within the recycling industry since they are hard to recycle due to their complex chemical properties.

“In 2030, the net economic benefits of nurturing reuse solutions can reach IDR1.5 trillion, while also reducing plastic sachet or pouch usage. These are calculated from the economic contraction due to the decline in demand for sachet and pouches, reduction in negative externalities, and economic revival from alternative reuse solutions.” Tiza Mafira, Executive Director, Diet Plastik Indonesia

In Indonesia, the informal sector collects around 1 million tons of plastic waste, and 70% of that waste is channeled to the recycling system. More often than not, these informal workers, more commonly referred to as “pemulung,” does not gain recognition while working for low wages and unsafe conditions. Hence, it is important to support their welfare and ensure that the just transition considers the socio-economic challenges faced by the informal sector.

“A just transition in waste management refers to the equitable and inclusive shift towards sustainable waste practices that recognize and support the roles of all stakeholders, particularly waste workers, including those in the informal sector. This concept emphasizes the need to ensure that these informal workers are not left behind along with full-life cycle plastic approach as policies and systems evolve to address plastic pollution.” Dhedy Adi Nugroho, Head of Public Affairs, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Indonesia.

Enhanced Readiness of The Southeast Asian Region in Addressing Plastic Pollution under Plastic Treaty: Regional Collaboration to Address Plastic Pollution Across Its Lifecycle.

Busan, 27 November 2024 – Indonesia NPAP, WRI Indonesia, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), University of New South Wales (UNSW) Centre for Development Reform, and Global Ocean Account Partnership (GOAP) Secretariat, in collaboration with Sirsak and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia, organized a INC-5 Side Event “Enhanced Readiness of The Southeast Asian Region in Addressing Plastic Pollution under Plastic Treaty: Regional Collaboration to Address Plastic Pollution Across Its Lifecycle.”

As a regional bloc and cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has a strong commitment to combat plastic pollution, including marine debris. ASEAN has strong modalities in ending plastic pollution through the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Region that led to the development of the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States (2021-2025), which was announced during the 34th ASEAN Summit. Moreover, the bloc adopted the ASEAN Declaration on Plastic Circularity during the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit in 2024.  

“It is clear that ASEAN member states are willing and committed to address the issue and can be addressed by two actions. First, there is a strong need to build knowledge and capacity for waste management. Secondly, there is also a need for support from international schemes with the upcoming Global Plastic Treaty, which not only provides principles and guidelines to abide by but also provides practical support.” Reo Kawamura, Director for Environmental Policy and the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (RKC-MPD), ERIA.

Despite having a strong commitment to end plastic pollution, according to the OECD’s 2022 Plastic Outlook, ASEAN member states still lagged behind in proper waste management statistics. Compared to the 22% global average on mismanaged plastic waste, non-OECD Asian countries (which includes ASEAN) have a high percentage of 43%. Moreover, despite a high waste collection average of 50%, the recycling rate of ASEAN countries still struggle to reach above 35%.

On the other aspects, the current treaty aims to end plastic pollution at its full lifecycle. This means that it will include aspects of design, production, and waste management. Globally, it is estimated that we produce around 400 million tons of plastic waste annually. However, data that describes how plastic moves through the global economy and environment still doest not exists.

“The international agreement that we are all here negotiating could provide a unique opportunity to address many of the data gaps that exist. In doing this, the treaty can be a catalyst to improve plastics data nationally and globally, leading to evidence-based decision-making and the science-policy interface for plastic pollution.” Bella Charlesworth, Research Analyst, UNSW Centre for Development Reform

This improved data landscape would not only enhance our understanding of the problem but also enable more effective decision-making, monitoring, and evaluation of our efforts to combat plastic pollution. 

As developing nations tend to have a more severe impact on their economy when the treaty is implemented with high stringency, the negotiations for the treaty also touched upon the topics addressing finance, the establishment of financial mechanisms, capacity building, technical assistance, technology transfer, and international cooperation. 
Ending plastic pollution will require the participation of all parties, including the private sector and the industries. The Global Plastic Treaty provides unprecedented momentum for the private sector to transform, experiment, and scale innovative solutions in plastic products and waste management. 

"The Global Plastic Treaty provides a unique opportunity to harmonize standards, mobilize resources, and accelerate the transition to a circular economy. But its success depends on unprecedented collaboration between industries, governments, and communities. Industries can mobilize resources, drive innovation, and scale up solutions to lead this transformation. By working together, we can ensure that no one—especially those at the forefront of the waste value chain—is left.” Lucia Karina, Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Indonesia.