The United Nations Development Programme (UNEP) has put together an interactive guide to pollution. Going through it, you’ll learn about the primary sources , the impacts and the actions we can take to help make a difference. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global authority on the environment. UNEP’s mission is to inspire, inform, and enable nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
To #BeatPollution, we need ambitious targets, decisive action, and global collaboration among governments, cities, businesses, civil society, and individuals. We have gotten ourselves into this pollution mess. We must now focus on solutions and innovation because the various forms of pollution and their impact on the triple planetary crisis, which includes climate changes, nature and biodiversity, and pollution and waste, are outpacing development progress.
Every year, 9 million people die due to pollution, making it the largest environmental threat to human health. Pollution-related deaths have increased by 66 per cent over the last two decades.
The output of pollutants – including plastics, chemicals and extractives – has accelerated due to human activity, coupled with inadequate national and international policies and insufficient investment for prevention and control. This has wide-ranging effects on the environment, making the air unclean, eroding soil and contaminating water. Pollution is transboundary and affects every living being.
We must shift towards a pollution-free planet and alter our economic models to protect the environment, safeguard human health and well-being, and ensure economic prosperity.
To meet the zero-pollution ambition, key pollutants including plastics, persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs), nitrogen, wastewater, solid waste, and fine particles, must be more effectively managed and industry practice standards around pollution issues, particularly for sectors with higher pollution footprints like mining and extractives, to electronics, to fashion and textiles, must be rewritten and enforced.
Click HERE to learn more about how to #BeatPollution.
