Langkawi, 4 September 2025: Under Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship, the 18th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME-18) and related dialogues were held. ERIA’s President Tetsuya Watanabe attended the AMME-18 as a key dialogue partner and delivered presentations on ERIA’s contributions to the environmental issues in ASEAN.
At the 3rd ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change (AJMDEC), President Watanabe highlighted two notable ERIA’s contributions. First, he touched upon the ASEAN Conference on Combating Plastic Pollution (ACCPP) that ERIA co-organized with the ASEAN Chairmanship countries in 2023 and 2024. By showcasing event reports produced as a result of both conferences, he emphasized that a set of policy recommendations from those ACCPPs laid the foundation of the ASEAN Declaration on Plastic Circularity, adopted at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in October 2024. Second, he reported on ERIA’s Vehicle Recycling Project, which culminated in a research report outlining a series of policy recommendations. This report promotes the safe and efficient dismantling of end-of-life vehicles by engaging formal operators under proper frameworks and management systems. He introduced that this report also served as input to the “Master Plan Outline for the ASEAN-Japan Co-Creation Initiative for the Next-Generation Automotive Industry,” which is currently under discussion in the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting.
At the 19th ASEAN Plus Three Environment Ministers Meeting (EMM), President Watanabe delivered the presentation focusing on the progress of activities by the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris. First, he remarked that the Centre provided technical support to the OECD to develop the Regional Plastics Outlook for Southeast and East Asia report. The recently published report highlights the status quo of plastic leakage from Southeast and East Asia, and underscores the effectiveness of “High Stringency” scenario to reduce plastic use, plastic waste, and mismanaged waste by 2050. Second, President Watanabe introduced the Centre’s new capacity-building programmes, which are to be rolled out from September 2025. The first programme aims to support small- and medium-sized ASEAN enterprises in adopting Circular Economy principles. The second will help government officials use plastic monitoring data to inform science-based policymaking. The third aims to improve the inclusion of informal sector actors, helping them become more integrated into national plastic waste management systems. All three programmes will be implemented between September 2025 and early 2026.
President Watanabe also met with environmental ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan to discuss the collaboration with ERIA to enhance environmental policymaking in the ASEAN region.
Director of the Knowledge Centre
Langkawi, 4 September 2025: Under Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship, the 18th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment (AMME-18) and related dialogues were held. ERIA’s President Tetsuya Watanabe attended the AMME-18 as a key dialogue partner and delivered presentations on ERIA’s contributions to the environmental issues in ASEAN.
At the 3rd ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change (AJMDEC), President Watanabe highlighted two notable ERIA’s contributions. First, he touched upon the ASEAN Conference on Combating Plastic Pollution (ACCPP) that ERIA co-organized with the ASEAN Chairmanship countries in 2023 and 2024. By showcasing event reports produced as a result of both conferences, he emphasized that a set of policy recommendations from those ACCPPs laid the foundation of the ASEAN Declaration on Plastic Circularity, adopted at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in October 2024. Second, he reported on ERIA’s Vehicle Recycling Project, which culminated in a research report outlining a series of policy recommendations. This report promotes the safe and efficient dismantling of end-of-life vehicles by engaging formal operators under proper frameworks and management systems. He introduced that this report also served as input to the “Master Plan Outline for the ASEAN-Japan Co-Creation Initiative for the Next-Generation Automotive Industry,” which is currently under discussion in the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting.
At the 19th ASEAN Plus Three Environment Ministers Meeting (EMM), President Watanabe delivered the presentation focusing on the progress of activities by the Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris. First, he remarked that the Centre provided technical support to the OECD to develop the Regional Plastics Outlook for Southeast and East Asia report. The recently published report highlights the status quo of plastic leakage from Southeast and East Asia, and underscores the effectiveness of “High Stringency” scenario to reduce plastic use, plastic waste, and mismanaged waste by 2050. Second, President Watanabe introduced the Centre’s new capacity-building programmes, which are to be rolled out from September 2025. The first programme aims to support small- and medium-sized ASEAN enterprises in adopting Circular Economy principles. The second will help government officials use plastic monitoring data to inform science-based policymaking. The third aims to improve the inclusion of informal sector actors, helping them become more integrated into national plastic waste management systems. All three programmes will be implemented between September 2025 and early 2026.
President Watanabe also met with environmental ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan to discuss the collaboration with ERIA to enhance environmental policymaking in the ASEAN region.
Director of the Knowledge Centre
