From Mexico to India, political leaders across the globe are voicing their support for World Environment Day. Many emphasized the importance of ending plastic pollution.

• Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, welcomed the start of World Environment Day in a post on X.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted a tree in Delhi as part of a national reforestation drive.
• Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, said limiting plastic pollution was a “commitment to our future.”
• Mohamed Bin Zayed, President of the United Arab Emirates, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to protecting the environment.
• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and other political leaders discussed  the importance of safeguarding the environment and ending plastic pollution.
• Swiss Ambassador for the Environment Felix Wertli spoke about upcoming talks on a global agreement to end plastic pollution. The negotiations will be held in Geneva.

It’s been a busy day here at the live feed, with events and announcements pouring in from across the globe. To quickly catch up on what’s happened, check out our official World Environment Day press release. While the celebrations are over in many places, in some they’re just beginning. So, stay tuned here for the latest.

Former UNEP Champion of the Earth Constantino Aucca Chutas is urging everyone, everywhere to do their part to reduce plastic pollution. “Let’s go. We can do it,” he said in a video posted to YouTube. Chutas is the founder of two conservation groups that have planted millions of trees and revived ecosystems across South America’s Andes mountain range.

The natural world, in the way it reuses everything and wastes nothing, has a lot to teach humanity about how to end the plastic pollution crisis. That’s the message from UNEP’s Goodwill Ambassadors, a group of celebrities from around the world passionate about the environment. 

On World Environment Day, the World Economic Forum is highlighting eight innovative solutions exploring ways to tackle the plastic pollution crisis across the plastics lifecycle. 

In a video posted to Instagram, investor and philanthropist Roberta Annan urged her 16 million followers to draw lessons from nature when it comes to how they use plastic.

“We need to reuse more, [eliminate] what we don’t need [and] support materials that return to the earth,” said Annan, UNEP’s Advocate for Sustainable Fashion.

See the video here