UNIS/SGSM/1317
2 June 2023
This World Environment Day is a call to beat plastic pollution.
Every year, over 400 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide – one third of which is used just once.
Every day, the equivalent of over 2000 garbage trucks full of plastic is dumped into our oceans, rivers, and lakes.
The consequences are catastrophic.
Microplastics find their way into the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.
Plastic is made from fossil fuels – the more plastic we produce, the more fossil fuel we burn, and the worse we make the climate crisis.
But we have solutions.
Last year, the global community began negotiating a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.
This is a promising first step, but we need all hands-on deck.
A new report by the UN Environment Programme shows that we can reduce plastic pollution by 80 per cent by 2040 – if we act now to reuse, recycle, reorient, and diversify away from plastics.
We must work as one – governments, companies, and consumers alike – to break our addiction to plastics, champion zero waste, and build a truly circular economy.
Together, let us shape a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future for all.
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Transnational organized crime in the Sahel represents a major obstacle to peace and security, human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, Impact of Transnational Organized Crime on Stability and Development in the Sahel.
The biggest street art in Vienna has been inaugurated today at a special ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in the city, with representatives of Host Country, City of Vienna, 22nd municipal district, the United Nations and the Calle Libre Street Art Festival as well as the artist himself, Fintan Magee.
Marking its 20th anniversary, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) invites the 79 million people living in the 14 Danube countries to take part in this year’s Danube Day celebration and outdoor events.
The UNCITRAL/UNIDROIT Model Law on Warehouse Receipts was adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) at its 57th session in New York.