Today, June 5, 2025, is World Environment Day, and the global community is united in addressing the three greatest challenges facing humanity today – climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

The theme of this year’s event is tackling plastic pollution, which permeates every corner of the planet—even in our bodies in the form of microplastics. World Environment Day 2025 calls for collective action to tackle plastic pollution.  

Speaking at a roundtable discussion at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi on June 4, 2025, Deputy Director Elizabeth Mrema urged countries, companies and people to continue driving lasting solutions to end plastic pollution.

By drawing inspiration from nature and showcasing real-world solutions, the UNEP-led campaign will encourage individuals, organisations, industries and governments to adopt sustainable practices that drive systemic change.

This year’s World Environment Day comes exactly two months before countries meet again to continue negotiating a global treaty to end plastic pollution.

“Countries are increasingly putting in place regulations that incentivise plastic product design, including making packaging reusable,” Mrema said, while putting across critical questions on how we design plastics to be recycled without exposing people or ecosystems to harmful chemicals at the product’s end of life.

“Are those who place products on the market being held accountable for their impact, including unlocking financing for solutions?” the UNEP deputy director posed.  

Ahead of World Environment Day, UNEP, in partnership with the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter, launched the Global Plastics Hub.

The hub, which has been funded by the governments of Japan, Norway and the US, is designed to be a one-stop shop where government officials and others can track 80 plastic-pollution-related indicators.

The platform is among the most comprehensive platforms of its kind in the world.

In-depth country dashboards track how much plastic countries trade, how they manage plastic waste and what policies they have to counter plastic pollution.

It’s designed to help countries make more informed decisions about how to address plastic pollution.

Clarion call

UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, actor and environmentalist Alex Rendell, an avid diver, threw his support behind humanity and the global effort to halt plastic pollution, nearly 11 million tonnes of which end up in the ocean annually.

“This World Environment Day is a clarion call to end marine pollution, to keep it out of our waters and reefs, as well as our lands, air and bodies,” Rendell said in an Instagram post.

UNEP in March hosted an international online dialogue to outline priorities for an ambitious and effective global plastics treaty.

UNEP hosted the dialogue as countries prepare for the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Committee (INC-5.2) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

Themed ‘Plastics Treaty: State of Play and Priorities for an Ambitious Outcome’, the dialogue served as an opportunity to review the progress made in the talks and discuss key priorities for an ambitious outcome.