Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover has joined with campaigners around the world to pray for the rubbish problem which is blighting communities living in poverty. The special downloadable prayer video is for international development charity Tearfund’s ‘Rubbish Campaign Week of Prayer and Action’ (Monday, October 30 - Sunday, November 5 2023).
The week comes ahead of the next round of negotiations for the first ever UN treaty on plastic pollution. Tearfund staff and activists will be at the talks in Kenya to make sure that the voices of waste pickers and people living in poverty are heard.
Around the world, one in four people have no safe way to dispose of rubbish, meaning many are forced to live and work among piles of waste. This is making people sick, releasing toxic fumes, flooding communities and causing up to a million deaths each year – that’s one person dying every 30 seconds.
Bishop Rose said: “Our world is in a mess in so many ways. Among other man-made problems, we’re facing mountains of plastic pollution and our addiction to single-use plastics is only making it worse. But Jesus told his followers that even the smallest amount of faith can move mountains.
“Join me and a global movement of Christians - from the UK to Australia, New Zealand to Zambia - in praying for the UN plastic treaty talks and bringing an end to this rubbish problem.”
Tearfund is encouraging churches and individuals to check out their free resources including a prayer video, prayer guide and even daily texts to pray for those most affected by the plastic crisis. Visit www.tearfund.org/weekofprayer for more information.
ENDS
For further information email [email protected] or for out-of-hours media enquiries please call the Tearfund media team on 07929 339813.
Notes to editors:
Tearfund is a Christian charity that partners with churches in more than 50 of the world’s poorest countries. They tackle poverty through sustainable development, responding to disasters and challenging injustice. Tearfund believes an end to extreme poverty is possible. Tearfund is also a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit www.tearfund.org
Photos:
- Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover. Credit: Diocese of Canterbury
- Mountains of waste in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Credit: Daniel Msirikale/Tearfund
Tearfund free resources include:
- A prayer guide
- A prayer video for inspiration on how to pray
- Daily prayer texts
- Daily prayer content on Twitter and the Renew Our World Instagram account
- Take action by signing and sharing Tearfund’s petition
Background on the treaty
On 2 March 2022, at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in Nairobi, a resolution was passed by UN member states giving the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the mandate to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument (treaty) on plastic pollution with the aim of completing this work by the end of 2024 when the treaty will be ready for ratification. The first session of the INC, known as INC-1, took place from 28 November to 2 December 2022 in Uruguay, where more than 1,400 in-person and virtual delegates from 147 countries took part in the meeting, which set the foundations for the global agreement. The second session, known as INC-2, took place in Paris from May 29 to June 2. 167 member states and 343 NGOs attended. It was agreed that the INC secretariat will prepare a first draft of the treaty ahead of INC-3 which takes place in Nairobi, Kenya from November 13 - 19 2023. Three further INC sessions are planned for 2023 and 2024. These sessions will see governments work out the content and logistics of the plastic treaty, in order to develop and adopt a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
