The delegation of the European Union (EU) in the Dominican Republic and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) challenged society to drastically change its consumption model for a more sustainable one that guarantees harmony between people and the planet.
To this end, international entities launched the campaign “I’m going with mine”a call to proactive action in favor of the environment to prevent 20 million single-use plastic bottles from reaching ecosystems, including the oceans.
Organizations seek to encourage people to use reusable itemshow to always carry a reusable bottle with you as an individual and concrete contribution to stop plastic pollution.
Public entities, academia, civil society and the private sector may also join and assume the commitment to promote the reduction of single-use plastic in their daily activities.
This call for a collective awakening in favor of a sustainable culture It is a response to the crisis that plastic pollution represents. In less than 70 years it went from two million tons to 350 million. According to United Nations Organization (UN) today more than 1.0 million plastic bottles are consumed every minute in the world. If this trend is not reversed, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.
EU Ambassador Katja Afheldt and Inka Mattila from UNDP explained that the problematic of plastics represents a triple shock because it accelerates climate change, generates the loss of nature and biodiversity, and increases pollution.
“Caring for the environment is a global urgency. The pollution Plastic affects us all. From the European Union we invite you to join this campaign and encourage all people to change their consumption habits towards more sustainable practices”, indicated Afheldt.
Meanwhile, Mattila said that “For UNDP, as the lead UN development agency, this campaign is part of our global strategy, which seeks to promote individual/local action and partnerships to counter plastic pollution.”