"We are committed to end plastic pollution, with the ambition to reduce additional plastic pollution to zero by 2040," it said.
Germany, France, Canada, Britain and the EU are already part of a multi-national coalition that made the same pledge last year.
But this is the first time the remaining Group of Seven members -- Japan, the United States and Italy -- have made the 2040 commitment.
German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke hailed the bloc's new plastic pollution pledge as an "ambitious goal" at a press conference following the two-day talks in Sapporo.
The phase-out will be achieved by "promoting sustainable consumption and production of plastics, increasing their circularity in the economy, and environmentally sound management of waste", the statement said.
Plastic waste has doubled globally in 20 years and only nine percent is successfully recycled, according to the OECD group of developed countries.
The United Nations says the volume of plastic entering the oceans will nearly triple by 2040.
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, is Copyright 1995-2026 Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principles for news reporting and research purposes. |
