Join the Fight Against Plastic Pollution
- by: WWF
- recipient: Heads of State
There is a silent predator in our oceans: abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, known as ghost gear. This type of waste can scour the ocean bottom, trap and drown marine wildlife and endanger navigation and fisher economies. Globally, 66% of marine mammals, 50 % of seabirds and all sea turtles species have been impacted by trash in our oceans, including discarded fishing gear.
Plastic is everywhere. From beaches in Indonesia to the remotest Arctic, it is silently choking our planet. Plastic has contaminated the soil, rivers and oceans. Many of us are doing our part to reduce plastic pollution by recycling and reducing single-use items, but it's just not enough. Governments must step up to take accountability and end this pollution epidemic.
Ask our government leaders to establish a global legally-binding agreement to stop plastics from leaking into our oceans.
Dear Honorable Heads of State,
Our oceans face a growing pollution crisis. About 8 million metric tons of plastic waste end up in our oceans every year. There are already an estimated 150 million metric tons of plastic in our oceans because this problem hasn't been addressed effectively. We need a global agreement to end plastic leakage into the seas by 2030.
Marine plastic pollution has serious consequences for people's well-being and their livelihoods. And it also has devastating impacts on life in our oceans — causing injury and death to fish, sea turtles, whales, birds, coral reefs and much more.
Every single country is part of this plastics crisis. And every single country must be part of the solution: we need a united global response, with the world's governments taking accountability for ending marine plastics pollution.
That's why we, the people of the world, ask you to create a global and legally binding agreement to stop the leakage of plastics into our oceans by 2030. The agreement should:
- set strict goals for pollution reduction in each country — including the US,
- create a national action plan in each country — including the US — to meet these goals.
The plastics crisis in our oceans was created in a single lifetime and can be ended in a single decade. If we act now, together.
[Your comments]
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
