MANILA -- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) should tackle climate change, food security and other challenges if it wants to build the economic future that it wants, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Saturday.

“APEC has done remarkable work in embedding a sustainability agenda as part of its Vision and Action Plan. We should act swiftly to set it in motion,” the President said in his intervention during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) Retreat Session II.

APEC must address climate change, which Marcos described as “the greatest existential threat” affecting the region.

The regional economic bloc, the Philippine leader said, can and should contribute to a trade and investment environment that assists economies in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, facilitating climate financing and ensuring genuine and effective technology transfer for the most vulnerable developing countries.

President Marcos also highlighted the need to renew APEC’s commitment to investing in food security.

“We need to take concrete steps towards modern and resilient agriculture. Food is not just a trade commodity, it is not a livelihood; it is a survival imperative, it is a moral imperative. It is the very basis of human security,” Marcos told session participants.

“To attain food self-sufficiency and security, we are providing innovative solutions and financial support to farmers and fisherfolk to adopt new technologies and connect to national and global value supply chains,” the chief executive added.

At the same time, Marcos said APEC can pursue closer cooperation to address plastics pollution, encourage sustainable plastics trade and move towards a circular regional economy.

The Philippines, he said, is carefully evaluating the imposition of an excise tax on single-use plastics to curb plastic pollution in favor of more sustainable alternatives.

The country’s effort demonstrated how locally incubated and championed initiatives have found their way to the multilateral trading system, the President noted.

Established in 1989, APEC is a regional economic forum with 21 member economies across the Asia-Pacific region aimed at promoting regional economic integration under a non-legally binding manner and friendly environment. (PND)