UN: Plastics in Seas May Exceed Fish by 2050

During the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime focused on combating the illicit trade in waste and plastic pollution, according to a United Nations (UN) report.

And the office said in a statement issued by it, that the world produces billions of tons of solid waste, especially plastic, every year, and a large proportion of it is mismanaged.

Up to 40 percent of waste is burned in public and non-enclosed spaces, emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and exacerbating the climate crisis by polluting drinking water and agricultural land.

“The waste sector is a significant contributor to climate change. According to some estimates, it contributes 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The plastics manufacturing and use cycle consume 6 % of global oil production and carbon is heavily emitted during disposal, especially if burned in open areas.

Moreover, plastic waste pollutes terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (seas and oceans), and global estimates indicate that by 2050 the proportion of materials that could exceed Plastic in the seas is the percentage of fish (by weight ).