The  Asian Development Bank (ADB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and KfW Bankengruppe (KfW) organized the "Banking on Waste: Unlocking Finance to Address Plastic Pollution", a breakout session during the ASEAN Conference for Combatting Plastic Pollution (ACCPP) 2023: Enhanced Synergies and Collaborative Actions to Combatting Plastic Pollution Including the Marine Environment.

In preparations to align to a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, ASEAN member countries continued to make a decisive move towards systemic change, investing in plastics as a valuable resource throughout its full life cycle. Solutions – both downstream and upstream – to the plastic crisis exist but the investment requirement to transition to a circular economy is about $1.2 trillion. Financial institutions and the private sector should promote greater private investments that eliminate waste and promote the sustainable use of natural resources. Governments have a critical role such as incentivizing investment thereby increasing the bankability of projects; developing and deepening domestic capital markets (and beyond); and creating cohesive policies, laws, and regulations. 

This breakout session aimed to discuss how new financial mechanisms such as blue bonds and sustainability-linked loans, including traditional approaches such as taxes, fees, incentives, subsidies, and public-private partnerships, can drive investments toward circular models, and unlock wealth within the plastic value chain.