Hundreds of activists marched in Busan, South Korea, on Saturday, urging stronger global action against plastic waste ahead of next week’s U.N. talks on a legally binding plastic pollution treaty. Participants called for reduced production and showcased creative protests using discarded plastic.
Hundreds of environmental activists marched on Saturday in the South Korean city of Busan, calling for stronger global action to tackle plastic waste ahead of U.N. talks in the city next week.
About a thousand people, including members of indigenous groups, young people and informal waste collectors, took part in the rally, the organiser said. Some carried banners saying "Cut plastic production" and "Drastic plastic reduction now!" The activists marched around the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre, where the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) will take place from Monday to discuss a legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution.
Debate is expected to focus on whether the agreement should aim to slash production, while major producers such as Saudi Arabia and China have previously argued that it should prioritise less controversial approaches like waste management.
"We are here with Greenpeace and our allies in the Break Free from Plastic movement to represent the millions of people around the world that are demanding that world leaders address plastic pollution by reducing the amount of plastic that we produce in the first place," said Graham Forbes, global plastic campaign lead at Greenpeace.
Participants from various countries and of all ages joined the march, with some wearing elaborate hats made from discarded plastic items. "It looks like the Earth, and a living creature, because I wanted to say our living creatures are being affected by plastic pollution," said Lee Kyoung-ah, 52, who wore a hat made of abandoned plastic buoys.
Lee Min-sung, 26, expressed hope for changes in consumer habits. "I hope the culture of using 'reusables' becomes a cool, trendy movement, as that will reduce (waste) little by little," he said.
Fourth-grader Kim Seo-yul, who flew from her home in Jeju Island to join the march, shared her thoughts. "I will pick up trash more often, whenever I have time, and throw away less to save the Earth," she said.
Russian air attacks have killed at least 12 people and injured several others in Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Tuesday, marking the sixt...
Israel and Greece have signed a €3 billion defence agreement that will see Israel build a new multi-layered air-defence system for Greece. It ...
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the ...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, as leaders gather for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) are gathering in Bishkek for a summit focused on trade, investment and transport as the group marks 25 years since its creation.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Russia views NATO’s growing military activity in the Arctic as a direct threat to its national security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Vast flocks of storks passed through Türkiye and the Bosporus this week as part of their annual autumn migration from European breeding grounds toward Africa and the Middle East.
China's coastal areas and southern regions are preparing for days of intense precipitation, with tens of thousands of people evacuated as Typhoon Narra tracks inland and another storm churns toward the country's eastern seaboard.
A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate to safety and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday.
Rhossi, a rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that washed up near death on a Welsh beach in 2023, has returned to Texas after more than two years of rehabilitation in the UK.
Glacier coverage in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7 per cent over the past 70–90 years, according to an updated glacier inventory by Kyrgyzhydromet. The agency says the pace of glacier retreat has accelerated sharply in recent years.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment