'Asia's Greta Thunberg' Nina:Recycling without reduction is like mopping without turning off the tap"

Foto : JUNI KRISMANTO AFP

From the house of Aeshnina Azahra Aqilani (17) in the northeastern part of Java Island, Indonesia, a plume of black smoke can be seen. It is smoke coming from a cement raw material factory 10 minutes away. It is thicker and more pungent because it uses plastic as fuel. “I have always been surrounded by black smoke since I moved here when I was in elementary school,” Ashnina, an environmental activist, told reporters on the 26th. The factory wastewater flowed into the river, polluting the drinking water. Unburned trash was strewn all over the village. It was an everyday scene for her.

Nina Protests in Front of the Australian Consulate in Surabaya,
Demanding Australia to Stop Sending Waste to Indonesia

Aeshnina began her environmental activism after discovering that the garbage in her village was not made in her own country. The writing on the garbage was not in Indonesian. The garbage was illegally imported from “developed countries” and flowed into the island. The poor residents burned plastic as fuel instead of expensive wood. “I thought that I should hold the country that threw the garbage accountable,” Nina said. “I thought about sending letters.” Starting with then-US President Donald Trump in 2019, when she was 12 years old, she has sent protest letters to the “owners of the garbage” in Germany, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands.

Nina, who earned the nickname of “Asia’s Greta Thunberg” for her protest letter, entered Korea on the 22nd. She participated in the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on plastic pollution response, which began on the 25th. Nina, a citizen of a developing country and a young woman, said, “We are a vulnerable group when it comes to plastic issues,” and “I came to Korea to make (the weak) voices heard at international conferences.” Nina pointed out that in order to fundamentally stop developed countries from exporting waste to developing countries, it is important to agree to reduce production. “Talking about recycling without reducing production is like not turning off the tap when there is water overflowing, but just mopping,” she said. “Ultimately, regulations need to be created so that companies produce less plastic, and when less is produced, waste exports will decrease.”

Nina in Busan during INC5 foto : Hong Geun Lee

The reduction of primary plastic polymers, which are plastic raw materials, is a key agenda of this INC5. The countries are unable to narrow their differences of opinion. While the Friends of the International Plastics Convention (HAC), including Korea and the European Union (EU), argue that primary polymer production should be reduced, the Global Coalition for Plastic Sustainability (GCPS), launched under the leadership of Saudi Arabia, argues that waste management and recycling should be the main focus of negotiations rather than production regulations. It was not until late in the afternoon on the 25th that the countries agreed to use the 'non-paper' (unofficial document) proposed by INC Chairman Luis Bayas Balvidieso as the starting point for discussions.

Nina said, “Governments are just talking,” and “They don’t come up with concrete negotiation plans and always postpone the negotiations to next year.” She criticized this because the meeting is likely to end at the level of a “declaratory agreement” without specific goals, like the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. “It may not be an immediate problem for them, but it is a present danger for us,” she said. “Waste is already polluting our land, rivers, air, eggs, and even the safest place, the womb of a mother.”

Nina pointed out that Korea is not doing enough as the host country. “I am very disappointed that the Korean government seems to be focusing on recycling,” he said. “(The Korean) government’s pressure is important.” Environment Minister Kim Wan-seop met with reporters on the 25th and said, “We are not negotiating with a specific reduction target,” adding, “(If we discuss the number) wouldn’t it be realistically difficult to reach an agreement?”

He said, “Every time this happens, I feel like I’ve lost again, and it’s hard, but I can’t stop the pressure.” He continued, “Indonesia is well known for its natural landscapes, but paradoxically, many children think of our country as a dirty country,” and added, “I will continue to fight to restore our beauty.”

Translated from : https://www.khan.co.kr/article/202411280600031#c2b

Input: 2024.11.28 06:00 Last modified: 2024.11.28 06:01

Reporter Lee Hong-geun