7 new members joins World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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7 new members joins World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP)

Posted 24 Jan 2025

2 min read

New members include Angola, Bangladesh, Gabon, Guatemala, Kenya, Senegal & Tanzania.

About Global Plastic Action Partnership

  • Launched: during WEF's Sustainable Development Impact Summit in 2018
    • It acts  as a plastic pillar of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy and Friends of Ocean Action.
  • Present members: 25 (including Maharashtra State from India)
  • Objectives: accelerate global response to plastic pollution crisis (by bringing together governments, businesses, civil society), advance circular plastics economy to reduce emissions & protect land and ocean ecosystems.
  • Key activities: Helps countries in developing National Action Roadmaps & Investment Mobilization for waste management

Challenges related to handling of Global Plastic Waste

  • Scalability: Globally,  plastic waste has more than doubled since 2000. (OECD’s Global Plastic Outlook Report ,2022).
    • In 2024, India became the world’s largest plastic emitter country
  • Limited Recycling: Only 9% of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19% was incinerated and almost 50% went to sanitary landfills.

Impact of Plastic Waste

  • On Environment: It affects all land, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. It leads to biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and contributes to climate change.
    • Plastic pollution is responsible for an estimated 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, especially Methane from landfills.
  • On Health: Plastics in the form of microplastics damages animal and human health by entering the food chain.
  • On Economy: leads to decline in income of sectors such as tourism, fisheries, agriculture, and water safety.

India’s Initiatives for Plastic Waste Management

  • Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016: It leads to  Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to reduce plastic footprint by promoting recycling of plastic materials.
  • National Circular Economy Roadmap for reduction of Plastic waste in India was launched in 2023 in collaboration with Australia.
  • Tags :
  • Plastic Pollution
  • Global Plastic Action Partnership
  • GPAP
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