As if mountains of plastic waste weren’t horrible enough, mankind now faces a new and more direct menace. Microplastics are lurking in our blood, according to a Dutch study published in Environment International, posing a new threat to human health. Reconsider your position. Blood samples from 22 healthy volunteers were studied in the investigation. Microparticles were present in roughly 80% of the samples. Amid global turbulence, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) exemplifies the finest of multilateral cooperation.
Plastic pollution has become a pandemic. With today’s resolution, we’re on our way to finding a cure. Based on three original draught resolutions from various countries, the resolution creates an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which will begin its work this year to complete a draft legally binding agreement by the end of 2024. It reflects a variety of options for addressing the full lifecycle of plastics, the design of reusable or recyclable products and materials, and the need for increased international collaboration to enable access to technology, to realize the revolutionary plan.
Importance:
After Paris agreement, is the major global environmental agreement. It’s an insurance policy for current and future generations, allowing them to live with plastic without being doomed by it. To be clear, the INC s mission does not allow any shareholder to take a two-year break. Parallel to negotiations for an international enforceable agreement, UNEP will engage with any willing government and company across the value chain to move away from single-use plastics, mobilize private capital, and remove barriers to research and investment in a new circular economy.
Obstacles:
According to UNEP, plastic pollution increased from two million tonnes in 1950 to 348 million tonnes in 2017, resulting in a $522.6 billion worldwide industry. By 2040, it is predicted to double in size. According to the UN agency, the effects of plastic production and pollution just on the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss, and pollution is a disaster in the making, with plastic exposure harming human health as a result potentially affecting fertility, hormonal, metabolic, and neurological activity while also open burning of plastics contributes to air pollution. Under the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (34.7°F). Greenhouse gas emissions linked with plastic manufacture, use, and disposal would account for 15% of allowable emissions by 2050. Around 11 million tonnes of plastic garbage get into the ocean each year. By 2040, this figure may have tripled.
Conclusion:
Plastic pollution has affected every part of the world, from deep marine sediment to Mount Everest. The world demands a truly international solution to this worldwide problem. A pact that extends from the source to the sea.