The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres has called for urgent action to end plastic pollution.
He made the remarks during the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) that opened in Nairobi Kenya on Thursday to discuss a global treaty to ban plastics around the world.
Guterres says such efforts are urgent because the planet is on the brink of collapse.
“A burning injustice, we must work together to combat this crisis to put the world on a sustainable path and development,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom said UNEA-6 comes at a critical time for the health of our planet and the well-being of the human race.
He decried the fact that humans have plundered the environment in the name of progress.
“If our planet were a patient, it would have been admitted to Intensive Care. Vital signs are alarming, it’s running a fever with each of the last nine months the hottest on record,” he said.
Dr. Adhanom used the occasion to rally the delegates to support the One Health Approach in bridging human, animal and environmental health.
The assembly being held at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya aims to come up with a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
