Foreign Affairs Minister, Roberto Ampuero, signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment this Monday at the Our Ocean Conference in Bali, Indonesia. Led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with the United Nations, this initiative promotes the creation of a circular economy for plastic. One in which this material is always recyclable and never becomes waste.
Signatories of this global commitment join a network of business and government leaders who have received world recognition as pioneers in the change towards a circular economy for plastics. Countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Australia are also part of this initiative.
To date, over 290 organizations, producing 20% of all plastic packaging worldwide, have endorsed this commitment, which seeks to create a “new normal” for plastic packaging. The targets will be reviewed every 18 months and are set to become increasingly ambitious. Businesses that signed the commitment will publish annual data on their progress in order to help drive the momentum of the process and ensure transparency.
“The purpose of participating in Our Ocean is to share experiences with countries and leading organizations related to caring for the environment and safeguarding the marine ecosystem”, said the minister. “We are here to learn about what the rest of the world is doing to protect our oceans and fight climate change. These goals are key to the well-being of all Chileans as well as moving our country forward on the path of sustainable development”, he added.
He also highlighted that “foreign policy must have concrete results and benefits for our citizens. We want to invite all Chileans to take part in ocean conservation and to emphasize Chile’s international relevance on this matter”.
In the context of his participation in Our Ocean, Minister Ampuero worked with Susan Ruffo from Ocean Conservancy to moderate the high-level event “Share Experiences and Opportunities for Securing Climate Goals Through Building Ocean Resilience”.
The minister then travelled to Nusa Dua Convention Center, where he attended the official inauguration of the Our Ocean event, headed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
At the end of the day, Minister Ampuero held a working meeting with Andy Sharpless, Chief Executive Officer at NGO Oceana, and a bilateral meeting with Ine Eriksen, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Throughout the day, we received numerous acknowledgements for Chile’s role. We are proud of what we have achieved in terms of ocean preservation and we know that we can make more progress,” concluded the minister.