Plastic pollution is causing more than $1.5 trillion in health-related economic damage each year and is linked to illness and death throughout the human lifespan, according to a new review published in 'The Lancet' on Sunday.
Describing the issue as a 'plastics crisis', the authors stress that it is preventable with the right action. They call for science-backed and cost-effective policies, including strict regulation, enforcement, and financial incentives- modelled on past successes in reducing air pollution and lead exposure.
The findings have been released just as global efforts to forge a legally binding plastics treaty resume in Geneva.
The review warns that plastic pollution is a growing and serious threat to both human and environmental health.
It notes that plastic production has surged from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to 475 million tons in 2022, and could reach 1.2 billion tons by 2060.
Around 8 billion tons of plastic waste has accumulated globally, with most of it still polluting ecosystems due to its resistance to degradation. Fewer than 10% of plastics are ever recycled.
The study comes as representatives from more than 170 countries gather for the second phase of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), which runs from 5 to 14 August in Geneva. The talks are seen as a critical opportunity to push forward a global treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Saturday (October 4) acknowledged defeat in the parliamentary elections to billionaire Andrej Babiš’s ANO party,...
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According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), between 2020 and 2024, Türkiye’s exports to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyr...
Two tourists have died in an accident on Vilyuchinsky Volcano in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. According to regional authorities, the incident occur...
The U.S. Space Force has awarded the majority of its 2026 national security missions to SpaceX. The company has secured a $714 million contract for fi...
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Saturday (October 4) acknowledged defeat in the parliamentary elections to billionaire Andrej Babiš’s ANO party, but affirmed that the country would remain a part of the West.
The currency swap agreement signed between the central banks of Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to strengthen Türkiye’s digital banking sector and attract fresh investment from the Gulf.
According to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), between 2020 and 2024, Türkiye’s exports to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan totalled $36.6 billion, while imports from these countries reached $26 billion.
Two tourists have died in an accident on Vilyuchinsky Volcano in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. According to regional authorities, the incident occurred during an unregistered climb, with one man pronounced dead at the scene and a woman later succumbing to her severe injuries.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
On the second day of Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW), attention centred on strengthening international cooperation, accelerating the transition to clean energy, and ensuring a fair and inclusive approach.
Super Typhoon Ragasa lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday.
When Climate Week kicks off in New York City on Sunday (21 September), it will mark the largest event of its kind yet, with organisers reporting a record number of companies participating and more events than ever before.
Rising temperatures are taking a mounting toll on Bangladesh, with heat-related illnesses and productivity losses costing the economy up to $1.78 billion - about 0.4% of GDP - in 2024, according to a World Bank report released Tuesday
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