New Delhi: Today the global community is celebrating World Environment Day 2023, ( June 05) to raise awareness and encourage efforts to protect the environment.
This year the theme pertains to ‘solutions to plastic pollution’ under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day after it was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. This year World Environment Day is being hosted by Côte D’Ivoire – or the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
Côte d’Ivoire has banned the use of plastic bags since 2014, supporting a shift to reusable packaging. The country’s largest city, Abidjan, has also become a hub for start-ups looking to beat plastic pollution.
According to UNEP more than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year worldwide, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 percent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers, and seas annually.
In a video message, UN Secretary-General Chief António Guterres called for all hands on deck to Beat Plastic Pollution and shape a sustainable future for all.
“We must work as one to break our addiction to plastic, champion zero waste & build a circular economy”
“The scourge of plastic pollution is a visible threat that impacts every community around the world,” said Jean-Luc Assi, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development.
“As host of World Environment Day 2023, we welcome all sectors, from governments and businesses to civil society, to come together to find and champion solutions,” Jean-Luc Assi said.
This year’s World Environment Day will be supported by the Government of the Netherlands, which is one of the countries taking ambitious action along the plastic lifecycle.
It is a signatory of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and a member of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter.
It is also a member of the High Ambition Coalition calling for a strong and ambitious international legally binding instrument to combat plastic pollution.
“Plastic pollution and its detrimental impacts on health, the economy and the environment cannot be ignored. Urgent action is required. At the same time, we need true, effective and robust solutions,” said Vivianne Heijnen, Netherlands’ Minister for the Environment.
“As part of several policies aimed at plastics, The Netherlands and the European community at large are fully committed to reduce the production and consumption of single-use plastic, which can and must be replaced with durable and sustainable alternatives.
“We must seize every opportunity and engage with every stakeholder to deal with the plastics problem in its entirety,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director.
“Côte d’Ivoire and the Netherlands are among a number of countries rising to this challenge and embracing the benefits of a circular plastics economy. The commemoration of the 50th World Environment Day is a moment for all governments, businesses, community groups, and individuals to join this drive.”
Over the past five decades, the day has grown to be one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach.
Tens of millions of people participate online and through in-person activities, events, and actions around the world.
To deal with plastic pollution the United Nations Environment Assembly recently held a meeting in Paris to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, with the ambition to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024.
The negotiators agreed to prepare a “zero draft” for a legally binding plastics treaty in the next session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which is due to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, this November.
The first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1) was held in Uruguay in December and the second meeting is expected to be held in Paris in 2023. The instrument is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.
According to a new report by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Plastic pollution could reduce by 80 per cent by 2040, if countries and companies make deep policy and market shifts using existing technologies.
The report which was released ahead of a second round of negotiations in Paris on a global agreement to beat plastic pollution outlined three market shifts – “reuse, recycle and reorient” and diversify to slash plastic pollution by 80 per cent globally by 2040.
The report also suggested that the overall, shift to a circular economy would result in USD 1.27 trillion in savings, considering costs and recycling revenues.
It said a further USD 3.25 trillion would be saved from avoided externalities such as health, climate, air pollution, marine ecosystem degradation, and litigation-related costs.
“This shift could also result in a net increase of 700,000 jobs by 2040, mostly in low-income countries, significantly improving the livelihoods of millions of workers in informal settings,” it said.
History and Significance
Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Environment Day was first marked on June 5, 1973, during the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.
At that time, the theme was ‘Only One Earth’. World Environment Day aims to bring together millions of people from across the globe, engaging them in the effort to protect and restore the Earth.