Maharashtra joins World Economic Forum in fight against plastic pollution

Maharashtra Indias largest state in terms of GDP and home to the countrys financial capital Mumbai on Sunday joined the World Economic Forums Global Plastic Action Partnership GPAP to advance regional efforts to fight plastic pollutionWith the new partnership announced here during the WEF Annual Meeting 2022 Maharashtra has joined a growing list of global economies that will leverage the GPAP platform to drive localised solutions for the circular economyThe partnership will bring together Maharashtras leading policymakers business leaders civil society organizations and experts to formulate a statelevel plan to eradicate plastic pollutionThe announcement follows the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly UNEA 5 where a resolution was adopted in March 2022 that will hold member nations legally accountable for their contributions to the global plastic pollution crisisBy joining the Global Plastic Action Partnership Maharashtra aims to enhance its commitment to curbing plastic pollution raise its ambition and ensure accountability and inclusivity throughout the value chainThe Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Maharashtra will work with GPAP to launch a National Plastic Action Partnership NPAP in Maharashtra as a platform to tackle plastic waste pollution according to a statement from the WEFThe GPAPMaharashtra is the first in India Maharashtra has an estimated population of 124 million people larger than countries such as Ethiopia and the Philippines making this a significant partnership in per capita termsNations currently implementing such partnerships include Indonesia Ghana Pakistan Vietnam and NigeriaThis agreement with the World Economic Forums Global Plastic Action Partnership marks a critical juncture in our states battle against the plastic pollution endemic said Aaditya Thackeray Minister of Environment and Climate Change for MaharashtraCovid proved a hurdle towards our singleuse plastic ban where health priorities in PPP took precedent Now as we refocus on our climate and sustainability objectives we are laying the foundation to deliver the systemswide change needed across sectors This partnership is the building block as we transition towards a more resource circular approach to tackle climate change while strengthening our economy he addedThe NPAP model creates a circular economy framework for plastics through a locallyled locallydriven platform In Maharashtra it will bring together the states most influential policymakers business leaders and civil society advocates This group will deliver a statelevel action plan to radically reduce plastic pollution and connect highpotential solutions with strategic financing opportunitiesGPAP is thrilled to partner with Maharashtra to continue their efforts to tackle the plastic pollution problem said Kristin Hughes Director of the GPAPMaharashtra is positioning itself as a leader nationally in India in the fight against plastic waste pollution In March 2018 the Government of Maharashtra banned the manufacturing sale and use of singleuse plastic bags It also banned an array of singleuse plastic products including cutlery straws and containersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever