There are about 12 million tons of plastic that enter the oceans every year. The oceans are expected to contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish by 2025, and by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish. Plastic pollution is a major concern in the Asia and Pacific Region, where nearly half of the global plastic leakage from land to sea comes from countries in Southeast Asia.

The session is about Mill, Hong Kong, China’s first beverage carton recycling pulp mill and education center. The center can process up to about 50 tons of beverage cartons daily and turn them into recycled paper pulp. At the same time, it can also recycle all kinds of wastepaper (composite- paper products) and produce various recycled paper products.

Launched in 2020, Koinpack built a deposit-based reuse system for plastic packaging, allowing consumers to purchase their favorite brands in reusable bottles, instead of single-use flexibles. When they return the bottle, they get a cashback as an incentive.

In 2009, the Circular Economy Promotion Law came into effect in the People's Republic of China (PRC), and circular economy is now included as an important priority in the country’s current five-year plan. Zero waste cities are promoted under an ongoing government pilot city program.

ADB's Central and West Asia Department together with Pacific Asia and Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Division presented the rationale for upstream climate assessments and highlighted different approaches. It showcased examples including climate assessments to support CPS preparation, a multi-hazard assessment approach in Tonga, and a project-level assessment in Pakistan. An open forum followed the presentations.

Central and West Asia Department of ADB, in cooperation with East Asia Department, organized a session on climate-resilient housing. The session showcased two pioneering ADB projects on climate-resilient housing in Uzbekistan and Mongolia. It highlighted key components of the projects on building resilience. It also discussed key considerations in designing similar projects in the future. Reactors also shared insights on the topic.

Implications of climate risk are increasingly being felt beyond borders.

The session introduced the global partnership Adaptation Without Borders, created in response to the emerging global challenge of transboundary climate risk, to create opportunities to strengthen international cooperation and to pave the way toward global resilience.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Cities in Asia and the Pacific region play a critical role in stepping up climate actions.

The session shared experiences from Baguio, Philippines, and Xiangtan, PRC on good practices in integrating low carbon and climate resilience into their development agenda and actions.