Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon writing in the Korean Kukmin Daily emphasized the urgency of addressing plastic pollution, calling it a global crisis that demands unified international action.  

“In my 10 years as Secretary-General of the UN, I realized that plastic pollution is a global problem, and that a universal effort of the international community is needed to solve it,” he wrote.  

Ban called on governments, civil society, companies, the scientific community, and the future generation to use World Environment Day on 5 June to act collectively. “World Environment Day should be a turning point,” he wrote. 

On #WorldEnvironmentDay, UNEP’s Executive Director, Inger Andersen, emphasized the importance of bridging science and policy to address the triple planetary crisis.   

Speaking at the Korea Environment Institute (KEI) Global Forum on World Environment Day, Andersen commended KEI’s contributions to the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) and called for inclusive, solutions-driven science:  

“The future depends on inclusive, incisive and insightful science that provides real-world, actionable solutions to environmental challenges,” Andersen said.  

Andersen highlighted global efforts, including plastic pollution negotiations, and stressed that timely, accessible science is key to driving environmental policy and sustainable action. She also welcomed progress on establishing a new science-policy panel on chemicals, waste, and pollution aimed at closing knowledge gaps and accelerating action to end the pollution crisis. 

In support of World Environment Day, the United Nations in India and the PayTM Foundation, India's largest universal payment interface platform, have launched the Plastic Pollution Literacy Kit. 

PayTM announced the launch on the home screen of its app. More than 300 million users rely on the app for payment services daily. 

The Plastic Pollution Literacy Kit aims to educate stakeholders on reducing plastic waste and pollution through accessible, relatable information. The kit was prepared with technical guidance from the United Nations Environment Programme. 

Speaking at the official World Environment Day celebration in Jeju, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “Ending plastic pollution is clearly a human health, planetary health, economic health and business health imperative.” 

“Ending plastic pollution is possible. But we cannot lean solely on recycling. Only by tackling the full life cycle, as well as using circular approaches, can we ensure that plastic pollution stays out of our oceans, our soils, and our bodies,” she added. “This means a complete rethink of how we design, make, use and reuse plastics.” 

Read the full speech