New Delhi: As India has participated in the fifth session of United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) on Tuesday, it asserted over the commitment to address plastic pollution. While addressing the Assembly, India's Environment Secretary Leena Nandan said, "India is committed to address plastic pollution including marine plastic pollution to reduce the adverse impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and human well-being."
She mentioned that India had piloted a resolution on addressing single use plastic product pollution in the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly held in 2019, bringing global focus on the issue. "The Government has notified the Guidelines on Extended Producers Responsibility on plastic packaging. Also, the Government has put a ban on identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential," she added.
Mentioning that sustainable development is core to India’s development strategy, the Environment Secretary stated, "Proactive steps have been taken to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into policies, schemes and programmes of the Government. Our sustainable development policies cover many sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable mobility, sustainable habitats and many others." She also asserted that the progress towards sustainable development goals can be accelerated through strong global partnerships in accordance with agreements under multilateral environmental conventions.
On Monday, the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had said that India will play a vital role in the UNEA on the issues of marine litter, sustainable use and recycle economy. Yadav will also participate in the UN Environment Assembly, which is going on in Nairobi. The first session of UNEA-5 (UNEA-5.1) was held online on February 22-23, 2021. While the in-person session of UNEA-5 (UNEA-5.2) will be held from February 28 to March 2, 2022.
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