Plastic is everywhere – even on your plate. A recent study found microplastics contamination in 99% of seafood, highlighting the stark reality that plastics have infiltrated every corner of the natural world.[1] The stakes are high. If we continue at this pace, plastic waste could nearly triple by 2060, soaring to one billion tons each year.
As we mark World Environment Day, it is now more important than ever for communities across the globe to take bold action and ensure lasting solutions to beat plastic pollution. The timing is critical. In just two months, countries will gather to continue negotiating a historic global treaty to end plastic pollution. This moment presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine humanity’s relationship with plastic and protect both environmental and human health from the effects of pollution.
Plastic pollution already threatens ecosystems, climate stability, human rights, and public health. It has reached the deepest ocean trenches, the highest mountain peaks, and even human bodies – with microplastics found even in breast milk.[2]
We cannot end plastic pollution without the engagement of the financial industry. The financial sector plays a crucial role in delivering the systemic change needed – from scaling innovation and infrastructure to aligning global investment flows with the goals of a strong plastics treaty. This is why 180 financial institutions, representing $17.2 trillion USD in assets, have signed the Finance Statement on Plastic Pollution. They are calling on governments to adopt an ambitious, binding treaty that empowers private finance to play its role in fighting the plastic pollution crisis. The statement calls for binding rules and obligations for governments to address the full cycle of plastic, a scientific-based approach to treaty decisions, and a global framework to align all economic actors with the treaty’s objectives.
“Redirecting both private and public financial flows towards the treaty’s objectives will be crucial to meeting the plastic pollution challenge head-on. We ask Member States to take note of the call from a significant segment of the global finance industry to create a historic environmental treaty that takes into account the commercial challenges and the risks and opportunities associated with financing the solutions to this global pollution issue.”
– UNEP FI Head, Eric Usher
Financial institutions also have a clear vested interest in addressing plastic pollution. Doing so supports long-term competitiveness and contributes towards a resilient, inclusive, and low-carbon economy. It also strengthens the implementation of existing sustainability commitments within voluntary frameworks, such as the Principles for Responsible Banking and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance.
To help guide financial institutions with this transition, UNEP FI released Navigating Pollution: A Blueprint for the Banking Sector in December 2024. This report provides insights into the economic and societal costs of pollution, explores the financial risks it poses, and identifies opportunities in resource-efficient practices. Additionally, it demonstrates how reducing pollution can enhance clients’ financial performance, while advancing banks’ sustainability goals. Building on this, next month, UNEP FI will publish two sector-specific guides designed for banks. This guidance, focusing on agriculture and buildings and construction, will provide practical pathways for reducing and managing pollution in two of the world’s most impactful sectors.
Meanwhile, the global spotlight turns to the UN Ocean Conference beginning in a few days in Nice, France. With an estimated 11 million tons of plastics leaking into aquatic ecosystems each year,[3] plastic pollution is sure to be high on the agenda. Decisive regulatory action will be essential to protecting our oceans and securing a sustainable future for people and planet.
Whether you’re shaping policy or directing investment – this is the moment to act. The world urgently needs ambitious leadership in order to successfully beat plastic pollution.
Check out our agenda of events on financing the ocean both ahead of and at the UN Ocean Conference.
Read how UNEP FI and its members are making an impact on the sustainable finance agenda in the 2024 Annual Overview.
[1] From the ocean to our kitchen table: anthropogenic particles in the edible tissue of U.S. West Coast seafood species
[2] Detection of Microplastics in Human Breast Milk and Its Association with Changes in Human Milk Bacterial Microbiota
[3] Drowning in Plastics – Marine Litter and Plastic Waste Vital Graphics | UNEP – UN Environment Programme