Hosted by Côte d'Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands, World Environment Day on 5 June 2023 is a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matter.

It’s time to accelerate this action. It’s time to #BeatPlasticPollution!

Get involved!

• Put your environmental activity or event on the World Environment Day map and receive a registration card.
• From 17 May, find solutions in the Beat Plastic Pollution Practical Guide.
• Join the #BeatPlasticPollution movement on social media using the tags #BeatPlasticPollution #WorldEnvironmentDay.

The hunt is on for sustainable alternatives to plastic.

UN Environment Programme (UNEP) highlighted some innovations in its 2019 alternatives-to-plastics report, which focused on three categories: natural fibres from plants and animals; biomass-based, compostable, synthetic biopolymers; and re-usable, durable, non-plastic materials. The aim was to inspire businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers by providing concrete examples.

To tackle marine pollution, as highlighted by the UNEP's Clean Seas campaign, we need to find new ways of designing and reusing the plastics we cannot do without.

Read about it here.

The Plastic Health Symposium took place in Brussels earlier today. Hosted by The Plastic Soup Foundation, the event brought together scientists, politicians, lawyers, industry representatives and NGOs to share innovations and solutions to the plastic crisis and how it impacts human health. A white paper document will be produced and presented at INC-2 in Paris.

Find out more.

At this year’s World Environment Day on 5 June, the issue of plastic pollution will be front and center. One of the most damaging and long-lived legacies of the plastic pollution crisis is microplastics, a growing threat to human and planetary health.

UNEP’s 2021 report From Pollution to Solution warned that chemicals in microplastics “are associated with serious health impacts, especially in women”. These can include changes to human genetics, brain development and respiration rates, among other health issues.

Read more about how microplastics are in cigarette filters, clothing and textiles, and cosmetics.

To take action, countries and businesses can join the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to make ambitious pledges and commitments to combat all aspects of marine litter and plastic pollution.

At a pre-World Environment Day film screening at the EU Parliament on 26 April, Dorothée Adam's film "Dear Plastic - A Toxic Love Story" sent a strong message that we should all drastically reduce our consumption of plastic products. It is a call to Beat Plastic Pollution.

The event was organized by the European Parliament Intergroup and MEP Catherine Chabaud.

In the ensuing panel discussion, Veronika Hunt Safrankova, Head of UNEP Brussels Office, emphasized the importance of ongoing negotiations to prepare a global Plastic Agreement that will address the whole life cycle of plastic. She also highlighted the focus of World Environment Day 2023 -"Solutions to Plastic Pollution”, which seeks to inspire governments, cities, industries and individuals alike, to reduce and rethink their plastic consumption.

Humanity produces more than 430 million tonnes of plastic annually, two-thirds of which are short-lived products that soon become waste, filling the ocean and, often, working their way into the human food chain.

“Many people aren’t aware that a material that is embedded in our daily life can have significant impacts not just on wildlife, but on the climate and on human health,” says Llorenç Milà i Canals, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) Life Cycle Initiative.

Read the UN Environment Programme's explainer to find out more about the plastic pollution crisis.

International Mother Earth Day is celebrated around the world on 22 April. The 2022 theme ‘invest in nature’ highlights the urgent need to close the USD 4.1 trillion financing gap in nature by 2050 to meet the world’s climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation targets. UNEP’s Finance for Nature report calls for investments in nature-based solutions to triple by 2030 and increase four-fold by 2050.

Experts say there is a lot we can do as individuals to counter the climate crisis. At the top of the list: pushing governments and businesses to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are upending Earth’s climate.

Here are five ways you can combat the climate crisis, courtesy of UNEP's Act Now: Speak Up campaign:

1. Approach your local government
2. Urge businesses to take action
3. Ensure your investments make a positive impact
4. Volunteer in your community
5. Spread the word

The resolution to end plastic pollution has led to a negotiation process by world leaders through the Intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC). The proposed global agreement addresses the full life cycle of plastic as an approach necessary to tackle the growing plastic pollution crisis.

"Never before had governments come together to end plastic pollution globally," explains Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) Secretariat. "The resolution acknowledges the importance of an international approach to preventing plastic pollution and its adverse effects on human well-being and the environment. It shows what is possible with international cooperation. In particular, the resolution recognizes the significant contribution made by workers in informal and cooperative settings to the collecting, sorting and recycling of plastics in many countries."

The Champions of the Earth award honours individuals, groups, and organisations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment.  
This year, UNEP seeks nominations of individuals, organisations, and governments working on sustainable solutions to eliminate plastic pollution. 

Nominations for the 2023 cycle will remain open from 14 March-14 April 2023. 

Find out more.