Development banks to invest at least R60bn by 2030 in ocean plastics fight
A group of development banks plans to invest at least €3bn (R60.71bn) by the end of the decade in tackling plastic pollution in the sea, expanding the scope and financial firepower of what remains the world's biggest effort to fix the growing problem.
The UN estimates that on current trends, plastic waste entering the water could triple to up to 37-million metric tons per year by 2040, from around 11-million tons in 2021.
Of particular concern is the growth in microplastics, which have contaminated all the major oceans, as well as the soil and air, finding their way into animals, plants and humans.
Launching the second iteration of the Clean Oceans Initiative as a UN conference kicks off in Nice, France, the European Investment Bank's (EIB) project lead, Stefanie Lindenberg, said the amount could rise further as other partners join.
Also including French, German, Spanish and Italian lenders and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the original initiative deployed €4bn (R80.95bn) of pledged investments between 2018 and May 2025, ahead of a year-end target, said EIB vice-president Ambroise Fayolle.
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