Da Nang (VNA) – Vietnam will joinglobal efforts to stop the production and use of single-use and non-recyclableplastic products, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Hatold Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Erik Solheim.
Their meeting took place on June 26 on thesidelines of the sixth Global Environment Facility Assembly (GEF 6) in the centralcity of Da Nang.
Vietnam will promptly issue financialregulations on plastic bags as many countries worldwide have imposed tariffs onthe products, helping to reduce 90 percent of the usage, Ha said.
The minister thanked cooperation and supportof the UNEP as well as the Executive Director for Vietnam and his ministry inparticular over the past time.
The UNEP has helped Vietnam with technologiesand consultants in building environmental laws and policies, providedscholarships for Vietnamese environmental workers, and assisted the country inenvironmental projects and programmes, he said.
For his part, Erik Solheim said contents ofhis discussion with the minister will be added to the list of the UNEP’sactivities during the GEF 6.
He also spoke of the Kigali Amendment tophase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) adoptedby member countries in October 2016.
The Kigali Amendment will enter into force onJanuary 1, 2019, provided that it is ratified by at least 20 member states ofthe Montreal Protocol. To date, 38 countries have approved the document,according to Erik Solheim.
During the meeting, the two sides comparednotes on maritime waste in the context that maritime plastic waste is a globalissue.
Ha said Vietnam has the responsibility forjoining the world to address the challenge.
A recent internationalsurvey revealing that Vietnam is one of the five countries in the worlddischarging the most plastic waste, with about 1.8 million tonnes dumped each year.
According to earthday.org,8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic has been produced since plastic wasintroduced in the 1950s. The amount of plastic produced in a year is roughlythe same as the entire weight of humanity. 91 percent of plastic waste isn’trecycled. And since most plastics don’t biodegrade in any meaningful sense, allthat plastic waste could exist for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Of note, 8 million metric tonnes of plasticwinds up in the oceans each year. That’s enough trash to cover every foot ofcoastline around the world with five full trash bags of plastic compoundingevery year. -VNA
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