UN-Oceans-Plastic
Fakhir Rizvi Published June 11, 2018 | 02:25 PM
More plastic than fish in world's oceans by 2050: UN chief sounds alarm at G7 Summit UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that there would be more plastic than fish by 2050 in the world's oceans if the present trends continue.
UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Jun, 2018 ) :More plastic than fish in world's oceans by 2050: UN chief sounds alarm at G7 Summit UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that there would be more plastic than fish by 2050 in the world's oceans if the present trends continue.
The facts are clear. Our oceans are a mess, Guterres said at an outreach event, that was part of the Group of Seven - or G7 - Summit of industrialized nations, which ended in Charlevoix, Canada.
The G7 group of advanced economies, consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Plastic waste is now found in the most remote areas of the planet. It kills marine life and is doing major harm to communities that depend on fishing and tourism, he added.
Pointing out that one mass of plastic in the Pacific is now bigger than France, Guterres welcomed the G7 Plastics Charter, agreed on Saturday, which is being seen by some observers as a Paris-style watershed moment for cleaning up ocean garbage, referencing the 2015 Agreement on climate change.
But we all need to do so much more, the secretary-general underscored, not just on plastic waste but on all ocean issues.
Make no mistake, we are in a battle. And we are losing on every front, he stressed.
The UN chief painted a picture of fish stocks being crippled by overfishing, vast coastal dead zones from pollution and untreated waste being discharged into the sea.
And, to compound these issues, we have the growing impacts of climate change, he asserted.
Ocean acidification is disrupting the marine food chain and record-level ocean temperatures are killing coral reefs and creating fiercer, more frequent storms.
Moreover, 40 per cent of the world's population lives within 100 kilometres of a coast " leaving them vulnerable to storms, sea level rise and coastal erosion.
Low-lying island nations and many coastal cities are in jeopardy of inundation, the Secretary-General spelled out.
Thankfully, Guterres, said, we have a battle plan.
Our guide is the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs], and especially Goal 14 with its 10 targets from addressing marine pollution and acidification, to ending overfishing and protecting ecosystems, he elaborated.
Our legal framework is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea " the world's constitution for the oceans", he added.
MrGuterres noted that while last year's Ocean Conference at UN Headquarters registered more than 1,300 commitments and partnerships, none of the initiatives and declarations are worth anything unless we accept that we face a global emergency.
And that is why I am here today. To sound the alarm. To inject a sense of real urgency in your deliberations and decision-making, he said.
Your leadership is needed now, more than ever " on combatting land-based pollution; on creating marine protected areas; on reviving fisheries; on building the resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities, and, especially, on climate change, he added.
He flagged that if our seas and oceans are not protected, and we lose the battle against climate change, all the assumptions on which our policy-making has been based will be worthless.
Take seriously these threats to our global environment and understand that our collective future and security is at stake, he added.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
World Labor Day being observed today
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 1 May 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 01 May 2024
Govt reduces petrol price by Rs5.45 per litre
Pakistan’s Ambassador to UAE meets Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah
Statement of Engro Corporation - LNG Case Decision
Wasim Akram touches fans’ hearts by new look
Empowering women for employment is the need of hour, says Sadaffe Abid
Global study reveals Pakistan’s inadequate measures against Tobacco Industry
Co-Working Center launched in Okara under PITB’s e-Earn program
BHC judges recommend legal action over agencies interference into judicial matte ..
Third Women T20I: Pakistan to face West Indies today
More Stories From Pakistan
-
CM KP emphasizes importance of hardworking class for societal progress, prosperity
9 minutes ago -
Labourers deserve special attention from all sections of society: Amir Muqam
19 minutes ago -
PPP to continue support to labourers: Bali
19 minutes ago -
Labourers play pivotal role in country's economy: Governor
29 minutes ago -
Human Rights Council of Pakistan playing important role in highlighting Kashmir dispute: Saghar
29 minutes ago -
Partly cloudy weather forecast for city
39 minutes ago
-
World Labor Day being observed today
42 minutes ago -
12 arrested, weapons,narcotics recovered
49 minutes ago -
Governor emphasizes labors' role in economic development
59 minutes ago -
Five maunds meat of dead animals seized
12 hours ago -
China boosts 6G progress by accelerating R&D for key technologies
12 hours ago -
US State deptt delegation meets Acting FS
12 hours ago