India to host World Environment Day in June

India will host United Nation's World Environment Day celebration this year with a theme 'Beat Plastic Pollution'.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and the United Nation on Monday signed an agreement on the hosting of the June 5 event during which governments, communities and individuals from around the world would be encouraged to find out an alternative to plastic.

Every year the world uses 500 billion plastic bags and each year at least 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the oceans. This is equivalent to a full garbage truck carrying plastic being thrown into the sea in every minute.

"India demonstrated tremendous global leadership on climate change and the need to shift to a low carbon economy, and India will now help galvanize greater action on plastics pollution," said Erik Solheim, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and head of UN Environment. The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan.

World Environment Day is a UN Environment-led global event.