On Saturday 9th June world leaders will gather at the G7 summit in Canada to discuss marine litter, healthy oceans and resilient coastal communities.
Tearfund is the biggest development agency working on marine litter and plastic waste.
Speaking ahead of the meeting the charity’s Senior Campaigner Joanne Green said:
“This meeting is a real chance for world’s leaders to come up with a plan for the crisis facing our oceans. The G7 must seize this opportunity and discuss the creation of a new fund to address mismanaged waste in developing nations.
“Two billion people in the world don’t have their rubbish collected causing death and disease as well as ending up in the ocean. That’s why it’s so vital that the G7 outlines how it will contribute to the solution.
“More aid money must be spent on collecting and managing waste in developing nations to stem the flow of it into rivers and oceans.
“Already successful community recycling schemes should be used as examples and scaled up. I’d urge the leaders at the G7 meeting to recognise that people in developing nations need localised solutions rather than large scale, high cost and high-technology projects, which can threaten the livelihoods of local people.”
Notes to Editor
- For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Tearfund’s media team: Antony Bushfield on 07929335146 / [email protected]
- Out of hours, please contact: 07710 573749
- Tearfund is a Christian relief and development agency and a member of the Disasters’ Emergency Committee. Founded in 1968, Tearfund has been working around the world for 50 years responding to disasters and helping lift communities out of poverty. For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit www.tearfund.org.
