Hanoi (VNA) - “It is time for us to take drastic and effective actionto change models of production and the consumption of traditional plastic productsin a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner,” Deputy Prime MinisterTrinh Dinh Dung has said.

In remarks at the launch of the Vietnam National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP)and the Mitigating Marine Plastic Debris in Vietnam Programme on December 23, hedescribed plastic as an important invention that has a major role in productionand daily life.

Plastics, however, especially single-use products, have seriously polluted the environmentand ecosystem, he said, highlighting that ASEAN is on red alert over plastic wastedischarged into the environment without treatment.

In recent years, the Vietnamese Government has proactively made proposals oninternational cooperation mechanisms to reduce plastic waste at various forums,such as the expanded G7 summit in Canada, the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in 2018,and World Economic Forum in Davos in 2019.

The country has carried out drastic programmes to handle plastic pollution, whichhave received an enthusiastic response from all people.

Most recently, the National Assembly adopted the law on environmental protection,providing an important legal framework for the country to enhance the management,reuse, recycling, and reduction of plastic waste in the time to come, and toalso boost international cooperation in the field, he said.

He lauded the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the World EconomicForum for their coordination in carrying out the Vietnam National Plastic ActionPartnership. He expressed a belief that the programme will connect management agencies,businesses, and the community to promote the effective management and treatmentof plastic waste, contributing to realising ASEAN’s commitment to protecting theenvironment.

The Deputy PM ordered relevant agencies to effectively implement the programme,with focus sharpened on the establishment of a legal framework regulating the responsibilityof plastics producers, the development of a standard system on plastics and microplastics,and the application of science and technology into plastics production and recycling.

Communications work should be paid due regard, he said, to raise public awarenessabout smart and sustainable plastic consumption.

In the time to come, Vietnam will step up international cooperation in scientificresearch, technological development, and knowledge transfer on the sustainable useand management of plastic products, he said, adding that a regional research centrewill be established to share information in the field, and a regional cooperationmechanism formed to settle plastic waste pollution.

“The Vietnamese Government pledges to create favourable conditions for the partnership,to make it become a standout model for sustainable plastic use and management,”he stated. “Vietnam will strongly participate in regional and global efforts toreduce plastic waste.”

Launching the programme, Vietnam is among the first three countries in theworld, together with Indonesia and Ghana, to apply a special model promoting actionto reduce plastic waste.

Director of the Global Plastic Action Partnership, Kristin Hughes, a member of theWorld Economic Forum, said the cooperation aims to conduct circular models thatare more sustainable and bring benefits to Vietnam’s abundant ocean ecosystem./.