ISLAMABAD: The world will come together on Monday to celebrate World Environment Day 2023, raising awareness about the grave impact of plastic pollution on nature and human health. The theme for this year’s event is “Solutions to Plastic Pollution,” emphasizing the importance of individual actions in combating this global issue.
Governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and Pakistan’s Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) will organize awareness walks, seminars, and symposiums to educate the public about the dangers of plastic pollution.
The day serves as a call to action for nations to accelerate their efforts and transition to a circular economy to tackle plastic pollution effectively. According to the United Nations, over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced worldwide annually, with nearly half of it designed for single-use purposes. Shockingly, less than 10 percent of this plastic is recycled.
The UN reports that an estimated 19-23 million tonnes of plastic end up in lakes, rivers, and seas each year, posing a threat to human health and biodiversity. Microplastics, tiny plastic particles up to 5mm in diameter, find their way into the food we consume, the air we breathe, and the water we drink, with each person estimated to ingest over 50,000 plastic particles per year.
Senator Sherry Rehman, the Minister for Climate Change, highlighted that Pakistan is burdened with plastic waste equivalent to the size of two K-2 mountains, polluting rivers and oceans. She emphasized that plastic pollution is one of the biggest challenges of the future. This World Environment Day underscores the need for transformative action worldwide to address this pressing issue.
World Environment Day Since 1973
World Environment Day, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since 1973, is the largest global platform for environmental outreach. This year, Côte D’Ivoire (Republic of Ivory Coast) is the host country. The event aims to engage millions of individuals worldwide in environmental initiatives. In 2021, Pakistan hosted the World Environment Day under the theme of ecosystem restoration and launched the worldwide decade of Ecosystem Restoration.
Plastic waste continues to pose a severe threat to marine and coastal species, with over 800 affected by ingestion, entanglement, and other hazards. However, transitioning to a circular economy can significantly reduce the volume of plastics entering oceans, decrease virgin plastic production, save governments billions of dollars, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, mainly in the global south.
Last year, 175 UN Member States endorsed a resolution to end plastic pollution and committed to creating an international legally binding agreement by the end of 2024. This agreement aims to tackle plastic pollution and stands as a significant environmental milestone following the Paris Agreement. It serves as an insurance policy for current and future generations, allowing them to coexist with plastic without being doomed by its adverse effects.
Plastic pollution knows no boundaries, reaching even the most remote and inaccessible environments. The Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the ocean, and Mt. Everest, the highest mountain peak, both contain tiny pieces of plastic, a testament to the global reach of this issue.
Plastic production heavily relies on fossil fuels, intensifying the climate crisis. Furthermore, plastic products generate greenhouse gas emissions throughout their lifecycle. Without action, plastic-related emissions could account for 19% of the total allowable emissions under the Paris Agreement by 2040, limiting the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
