The global challenges

Plastic pollution in Serbia. Darko Vojinovic / AP  

 

The global challenges  

UN: Plastic pollution can be reduced dramatically by 2040  

 

The global pollution caused by plastic can be reduced by up to 80 percent by 2040. This is stated by the UN climate program Unep in a new report, international media write. To get there, major but practical and financially affordable changes are required, according to Unep. 

 

"The report shows that only a systematic shift from a linear to a circular economy can keep plastic out of our ecosystems and bodies," writes Unep's head Inger Andersen according to Deutsche Welle.  

 

A first step involves getting rid of unnecessary plastic, such as excessive packaging. The next step is to increase the reuse of plastic and to replace plastic with greener alternatives.  

 

EU parliament. Jean-Francois Badias / AP  

 

The climate threat The threats to species richness  

The EU will be the first in the world to have a law against deforestation  

 

The EU prohibits the sale of goods that contribute to deforestation. The formal decision was taken by the member states on Tuesday, AP reports. 

 

Under the new rules, companies trading in palm oil, livestock, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy must verify that the goods they sell in the EU have not contributed to any deforestation or caused damage to forests since 2021.  

 

According to the World Resource Institute, an area of forest the size of ten football pitches in the world disappears every minute. Protecting the forest not only benefits the biodiversity there, but also helps to lower the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 

 

- We have written history by being the first in the world to have laws against deforestation, pointed out Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove at WWF's European office already in December.