NewsBamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative: Strengthening the Global Development Initiative
Bamboo can be used to replace many everyday items, such as toothbrushes. Credit: Oul’Fath Bouraïma.
This exciting new initiative champions bamboo as a sustainable alternative to plastics.
On 27 June 2022, China released a series of deliverables at the High-level Dialogue on Global Development under the framework of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), a comprehensive plan meant to jumpstart international efforts to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Included in the deliverables was the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative, set to launch in collaboration with INBAR. The initiative aims to radically scale up the use of bamboo as a renewable resource to reduce plastic pollution and address climate change.
Later, on 20 September 2022, at the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the GDI held in New York City and chaired by Wang Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, China jointly launched the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Global Action Plan with INBAR to effectively treat plastic pollution and leave a healthy green planet for future generations. This not only recognizes the important role of bamboo in reducing plastic use and carbon emissions, but will also greatly mobilize all INBAR Member States and the international community at-large to harness the huge potential of bamboo as a sustainable alternative to plastics.
Most recently, on 7 November 2022, as part of the Opening Ceremony of the Second Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC 2022) as well as INBAR’s 25th anniversary, INBAR and the Government of China formally launched the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative.
The Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative launched during the Opening Ceremony of BARC 2022. From left to right: Guan Zhi’ou, Administrator of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China; Cao Jianming, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China; and Jiang Zehui, Co-Chair of INBAR Board of Trustees.
Speaking at the event, Jiang Zehui, Co-Chair of INBAR Board of Trustees, introduced the plan as part of her keynote address. Her presentation was comprehensive in scope, giving a detailed on introduction on the many positive impacts that will result from bamboo-based materials substituting for plastics in a variety of different areas such as construction, tableware, industrial appliances, interior design, handicrafts and more. It was made abundantly clear that bamboo, with its countless ecological benefits, is a bio-based low-carbon solution that can greatly aid the world accomplish its carbon neutrality goals while meeting growing consumer demand for green alternative products.
INBAR has long touted bamboo as a green tool for lowering our dependency on plastics and mitigating the effects of climate change, from raising awareness at COP 25 regarding the potential of bamboo for meeting climate change commitments in developing countries, speaking at the International Plastic Ban Industry Forum about the exciting new possibilities for bamboo use, advocating for the role of bamboo as an alternative to plastics at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services, to promoting bamboo as a green alternative material at COP 27. It is now well positioned to accelerate the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative in close partnership with the Government of China. INBAR is excited to execute on this important plastic-reducing initiative within the framework of the GDI and leave the world greener and cleaner for generations to come.
