China: Agreement with Japan, South Korea on Pollution Control
A legally binding international agreement to combat plastic pollution should be concluded by the end of this year
Asia’s three largest economic powers – China, Japan, and South Korea – have reached a tentative agreement to reduce pollution caused by plastics. The three countries’ environment ministers also issued a joint statement committing Beijing, Tokyo, and Seoul to “work closely together to achieve a broad international agreement aimed at reducing plastic pollution as soon as possible.”
Following a two-day ministerial meeting on Jeju Island, South Korea, the Environment Minister of South Korea Kim Wan-sup said that “the three countries agreed to actively participate in the next multilateral talks” to be held in Busan in November, with the aim of making concrete progress.”
In addition, China, Japan, and South Korea have decided to “strengthen trilateral cooperation to jointly combat alarming climate change and, in particular, the so-called Asian Dust Storms (yellow dust).”
The meeting preceded the fifth and likely last meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, scheduled to be held in Busan, South Korea, from November 25 to December 1, 2024. At the initiative of the three Asian countries, the international community also expects to be able to reach a legally binding agreement on the global fight against plastic pollution by the end of this year.
