World leaders fail to address plastic crisis

The Fourth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-4), which took place from 11-15 March, ended with no agreement on starting a process towards a global, legally binding deal on marine plastics pollution - a solution advocated by WWF.

A WWF report launched on 5 March warned that without a drastic change in approach, global plastic pollution will continue to worsen, with 104 million metric tons of plastic at risk of leaking into the planet’s ecosystems by 2030.

“Over eight million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the oceans every year. UNEA-4 was an opportunity for the world’s leaders to make serious and tangible commitments and pledges to combating this global crisis,” said Marco Lambertini, WWF International’s Director General.

“This crisis cannot wait another two years for the next round of UNEA talks. We are urging all supportive countries to use this disappointing outcome to accelerate their work towards a global binding agreement on marine plastic pollution.”

More than 300,000 people have so far joined WWF’s global petition calling for a legally binding deal on marine plastics pollution.