30 years of UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Centre

The Speech of Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP at the
UNEP-IETC’s 30th Anniversary Event on 3 October 2022 in Osaka

Today we celebrate 30 years of UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Centre, which has become one of the pre-eminent bodies on environmentally sound waste management. UNEP appreciates the gracious support of the Government of Japan and the Osaka City Government to the centre’s work.

While we are celebrating a milestone moment on the road to zero-waste, we have much work to do. Waste is an issue that impacts the whole of the triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste.

Around one-third of the 2.24 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste produced in 2020 was not managed in an environmentally sustainable manner. 

Waste, if not properly managed, emits greenhouse gases, particularly methane, nitrous oxide and black carbon. Waste also affects ecosystems and their functioning. Agriculture run-off, for example, is causing dead zones in the oceans. Plastics, meanwhile, account for 12 per cent of global waste, equivalent to the weight of 3.4 million adult blue whales. These plastics, including microplastics, pose a potential risk to human health.

If current trends continue, the amount of waste will reach 3.88 billion tonnes per year by 2050. With recycling rates at under 16 per cent globally, it is clear we need to act to avoid worsening the triple planetary crisis.

UNEP proposes three key steps as a framework for action. One, establishing control over waste. Two, implementing environmentally sound management of waste. And three, moving towards circularity by considering waste as a secondary resource. UNEP-IETC is active in all areas, including through backing the Global Waste Initiative to reduce waste by 50 per cent by 2050, introduced by the COP 27 Presidency.

Over the next 30 years, UNEP-IETC is set to grow ever more influential. 

30 years of UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Centre

UNEP, through the work of UNEP-IETC, will deepen its role as a global authority on waste. The centre is already finalizing the second Global Waste Management Outlook. It will work towards creating harmonized waste data systems so that solid waste management strategies are forward looking and based on data.

UNEP will also play a growing role in advancing circularity by focusing on the lifecycle of waste across key high impact sectors. These efforts include engaging with transform high-impact sectors by providing solutions to reduce and manage flows.

The centre also has a part to play in the plastics agenda. As countries negotiate the deal to end plastic pollution, the centre can play a role by publishing scientific data that can help to shape goals and targets. As the deal is implemented, the centre’s work on technology transfer and capacity may also be helpful.

Friends, we at UNEP look forward to this journey. And I ask you all to join us. In particular, I am looking to the finance and investment community. Countries will have to invest in the infrastructure needed for waste management and recycling. This is an opportunity to bring in development banks, commercial banks and institutional investors. And it is an opportunity for those investing in digital technologies to track plastics across their life cycle and develop the markets needed for a circularity.

So, congratulations to UNEP-IETC for 30 years. I look forward to another 30 years as we work towards a zero-waste world.

Thank you.