G-20 agrees to tackle marine pollution

Environmental ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) agreed June 16 to develop a new framework to tackle marine plastic on a global scale, Reuters reports.

The meeting, which took place prior to the G-20 summit scheduled for June 28-29 in Osaka, Japan, proscribed a life cycle approach to managing plastic waste, including developing new biodegradable technology and sharing best practices between nations for conserving the world’s oceans.

Marine plastics have long been an issue, but unchecked contamination has resulted in calls for greater intervention from various countries as of late as the effects on the environment and marine life have been realized, Reuters reports.

“I’m glad that we, including emerging countries and developing countries, were able to form a broad international framework,” Yoshiaki Harada, Japan’s environmental minister, said.

While the program is voluntary, it is expected to be tracked to determine its effectiveness.

“Each country will take voluntary measures and will report on their activities periodically,” Harada said.

Japan will host the first meeting under the framework this fall when the countries meet for the G-20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue this fall.