Stories about Asia and the environment...that you probably haven’t heard yet. A new perspective on how different countries in Asia are tackling a changing plan...
S16E4: Lab Grown Fish - A Climate Change Solution?
Lab grown fish could be a game changer here in Asia because our waters are becoming more and more overfished. And it turns out marine life in the ocean creates one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet. So losing fish species could disrupt the marine life food chain, putting this amazing ocean carbon sink at risk. But before we talk about lab grown fish as a climate change solution, we first have to understand the history of this overfishing problem in Asia and the importance of fish delicacies to the food culture here.The episode was produced in partnership with FairPlanet - a global non-profit social enterprise and solutions media organisation founded in 2014 in Berlin with over 200 specialised journalists and experts in 60 countries.Guests (in order of appearance): Stan Shea, National Geographic Explorer and Recipient of the Pew Fellowship, Bloom (HK)Tracy Fu, Hong KongDr. Kenneth Lee, Emeritus Professor, School of BioMedical Sciences, Chinese University of Hong KongCarrie Chan, CEO, Avant MeatsDr. Luxing Liu, Previous Director, School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong KongProduction credits:Executive Producer: Marcy Trent LongCo-Host and Producer: Chermaine LeeSound Engineer: EstimaAssociate Producers: Sam LiXiaoYu, Zack ChiangContributing Editor: Jill BaxterIntro/outro music: Alex MauboussinSign up to find out when new Sustainable Asia seasons are launched
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S17E4: INC-4 and Plastic Chemicals
We're back partnering again with the Break Free From Plastic movement to feature NGO advocates in Asia. In this episode. we are going to hone in on one of the big open questions at the April 2024 INC4 talks. How should the treaty deal with problematic plastics and chemicals of concern?The US EPA recently banned certain PFAS chemicals in drinking water. And Switzerland called for an initial list of problematic plastics to be worked out by year end 2024. With short time left to negotiate the plastics treaty there is a forward movement to finally regulate toxic chemicals in plastics. But we want to take a step back and give more background to what are chemicals of concern in plastic for consumers and advocates alike. Then, at the end of this episode, we'll circle back to how these problematic plastics can be regulated both in and out of the treaty. Guests: 1. Madhuvanthi Rajkumar, Researcher in environment and climate action and solid waste management at Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, or CAG, in India. She represents consumer consituency at the Global Plastics Treaty meetings. 2. Jam Lorenzo, Policy development and research head, Ban Toxics in the Philippines.3. Jorge Emmanuel, Adjunct professor of environmental science and of engineering at Silliman University in the Philippines. He's also an official member of the Philippine Philippine Treaty DelegationProduction credits:Host: Marcy Trent LongProducer: Carol MangIntro/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:You can also refer to: GAIA's treaty page and GAIA’s Asia Pacific treaty pageAnd check out CIEL's paper on UN procedural tools used to block plastic treaty progress.
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S17E3: INC-3 Is Over…What Now?
We have a great new episode discussing the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty from the view of Break Free from Plastic advocates here in Asia. Our guests today have been working for decades to reduce plastic pollution at its source. Just a brief tip though… if you haven’t tuned into previous episodes in this SEASON you might want to … it will catch you up on where we are at with the plastic treaty negotiations!Well, the third meeting of the Global Plastics Treaty - otherwise called INC3 - ended last November and the Revised Zero Draft of the treaty is out… But there wasn’t a lot of progress during those INC3 meetings. For this episode, we are partnering with Break Free from Plastic (or BFFP) to get their members' views as we gear up for the next treaty negotiations at INC-4 in April. BFFP has more than 12,000 organizations and individuals around the world working together to demand reductions in single use plastics and advocate for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. Guests: 1. Arpita Bhagat - Plastic Policy Officer, GAIA Asia Pacific - based in India. GAIA is a network of more than 1000 organizations from 92 countries, whose vision is a just, zero waste world free from the burden of toxic pollution, where resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped. 2. Semee Rhee - Global Policy Advisor with BFFP in Korea. Semee represents BFFP in the plastics treaty process. 3. Mageswari Sangaralingam is the Honorary Secretary at Sahabat Alam Malaysia based in Penang and is a research officer with the Consumers' Association of Penang for the past 32 years. She represented Sahabat Alam Malaysia - or Friends of the Earth Malaysia - at the INC-3 plastics treaty meeting.Production credits:Host: Marcy Trent LongProducer: Carol MangIntro/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:You can also refer to: GAIA's treaty page and GAIA’s Asia Pacific treaty pageAnd check out CIEL's paper on UN procedural tools used to block plastic treaty progres.
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S17E2: Plastisphere Podcast's How (Not) to Make a Plastics Treaty - Part I: Ambition in a Bracket
Hey Sustainable Asia Listeners! We have some upcoming episodes discussing the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty negotiations that I think you are really going to find interesting. This bonus episode is from one of my favorite podcasts called Plastisphere. It’s run by Anja Krieger in Berlin. Over three episodes, Anja Krieger and Magnus Løvold shed light on how politics can influence the negotiations of a UN Global Plastics Treaty..I am replaying the first episode here…but if you want to hear more just head over to the Plastisphere Podcast. We’ve covered many of the issues that advocates in Asia want embedded in the plastics treaty. However, given that the treaty needs to be supported by nations globally…it inherently is a political document. And INC-3 proved that. Some countries basically did all that they could to block the progress of the plastics treaty by using procedural games to keep the treaty from ever being signed. So here is episode one of this three part series from Plastisphere Podcast.From Plastisphere: A podcast on plastic pollution in the environmentWhat happened at the INC-1 in Uruguay? Recap 1/3.This year, 2024, is the crucial year for the plastics treaty negotiations. If you haven’t heard about them, the United Nations are working on an international, legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. It’s been called the most important environmental deal since the Paris climate accord.Many countries want it to be an ambitious agreement that covers the full lifecycle of plastics, from production to disposal. But some countries are not so keen on this, and they have held up the development of the treaty. How and why exactly did they do this, and is there still hope for a strong and effective international agreement?To explore this, Anja connected with Magnus Løvold, an expert in Peace and Conflict Studies, and advisor with Lex International and NAIL, the Norwegian Academy of International Law. In his blog „Points of Order“, Magnus describes his observations at the diplomatic meetings he attends.This is the first of three parts of the conversation. Magnus and Anja will take you back into each meeting of the treaty negotiations - INC-1 in Uruguay, INC-2 in France and INC-3 in Kenya. We’ll talk diplomacy and give you a better understanding of what’s going on on the international stage.Read our guest's blog: "Points of Order" - independent reporting on multilateral processes, treaty-making and diplomacy" by Magnus Løvold and Torbjørn Graff Hugo: https://medium.com/points-of-orderEpisode transcript: https://anjakrieger.com/plastisphere/2024/03/08/transcript-plastic-treaty-making-part1/Music: Dorian RoyCover: Maren von StockhausenIf you like this show, support the production! Go to https://anjakrieger.com/plastisphere/support/
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S17E2: What happened at INC-2?
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
Stories about Asia and the environment...that you probably haven’t heard yet. A new perspective on how different countries in Asia are tackling a changing planet.
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