World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5, promotes environmental awareness and action. First observed in 1973, it commemorates the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment. People worldwide unite under a common theme to advocate for a healthier planet through activities like tree planting, clean-up campaigns, and climate action, encouraging everyone to do something positive for the environment.
According to the United Nations website, the Republic of Korea will host World Environment Day 2025 with a focus on ending plastic pollution globally. Ridding the planet of plastic pollution is an important contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including those on climate action, sustainable production and consumption, protection of seas and oceans and repairing ecosystems and retaining biodiversity.
Also Read | World Environment Day 2025: Know Date, History And Theme Of This Day
The Devastating Impact of Plastic Pollution
As per the UN report, every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world's oceans, rivers, and lakes.
Plastic pollution is a global problem. Every year 19-23 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems, polluting lakes, rivers and seas.
Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems' ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people's livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being.
UNEP's body of work demonstrates that the problem of plastic pollution doesn't exist in a vacuum. The environmental, social, economic and health risks of plastics need to be assessed alongside other environmental stressors, like climate change, ecosystem degradation and resource use.
