Norway pledges 400 million to the cleaning of the oceans
Norway pledges NOK 400 million extra for efforts to clean the oceans of plastic waste, mainly by stopping the plastic from ending up there.
– We have added NOK 400 million to next year’s state budget, which will first and foremost go to cleaning up and preventing plastic to enter into the oceans, says Prime Minister Erna Solberg (Conservatives).
On Monday, Solberg attended the first high-level meeting on ocean and industry in the UN General Assembly, New York.
Minister of Development and Aid, Nikolai Astrup (Conservatives), who is also attending in New York, stresses the importance of taking the plastic waste in the oceans seriously.
Very alarming
– The situation is very critical, he tells NTB.
– Every year, 8 million metric ton of plastic end up in the oceans, worldwide. In fact, by 2050, it can be more plastic than fish in the oceans. These funds are a very welcome supplement to reducing the amount of plastic in the oceans, says Astrup.
The added funds will go to specific measures, including improving waste systems in developing countries.
– Nearly 90 per cent of the plastic originates from onshore. That precisely the reason why it is very important that we do more to pave the way for efficient and sustainable garbage handling in the developing countries, he says.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
