ASEAN Summit has come under pressure from environmental activists as Greenpeace Southeast Asia called on leaders to take urgent action to address plastic pollution and reduce fossil fuel dependence across the region.
At the opening of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Greenpeace activists staged a peaceful protest urging policymakers to confront what they described as a growing environmental and public health crisis linked to plastic waste and petrochemical production.
The organisation said Southeast Asia is facing systemic waste management failures, pointing to recent landfill incidents in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. It warned that these events reflect deeper structural issues tied to overproduction of single-use plastics and weak corporate accountability.
Greenpeace said six ASEAN countries collectively generate around 31 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with environmental and economic impacts including marine pollution, ecosystem losses and risks to food security. It also linked the issue to fossil fuel dependency, noting that most plastics are derived from petrochemical industries.
The group urged ASEAN to adopt stronger regional measures, including a 75% reduction in plastic production by 2040, a phase-out of single-use plastics such as sachets and a shift towards reuse and refill systems supported by regional infrastructure and policy incentives.
It also called for the creation of a dedicated ASEAN working group on plastic pollution to strengthen cross-border coordination and enforce extended producer responsibility frameworks, arguing that corporations should be held financially accountable for the full lifecycle of plastic products.
Greenpeace campaigners from across Southeast Asia said the crisis is worsening due to climate pressures, rising energy costs and supply chain disruptions, stressing that communities across the region are bearing the burden of pollution and environmental risks.
The group said ASEAN leaders must treat plastic pollution as a human rights issue and ensure that future policies include protections for vulnerable groups, including informal waste workers, women and Indigenous communities, while pushing for a transition towards more sustainable production systems.
