A global ban on plastic bags will be introduced in 2024

The first worldwide ban on plastic bags is coming.

Delegates from 175 countries adopted a resolution to end plastic pollution at the UN environment Assembly, which ended on March 2.

The resolution sets up an intergovernmental negotiating committee with the goal of completing a legally binding international agreement to tackle plastic pollution by the end of 2024.

In addition to working with governments, unep said the resolution would allow companies to participate in discussions and seek investment from outside governments for research into plastic recycling.

Inger Andersen, executive director of unep, said it was the most important agreement on global environmental governance since the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Espen Barth Eide, president of the UN Environment Assembly and Norway's climate and environment Minister, said: "Plastic pollution has become an epidemic. With today's resolution, we are officially on the road to healing."

The United Nations Environment Assembly is held every two years to set global environmental policy priorities and formulate international environmental law.

This year's conference opened in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 28. Tackling global plastic pollution is one of the most important topics of the meeting.

According to data reported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 9 percent of the world's plastic waste was recycled in 2019, out of an estimated 353 million tons. At the same time, the scientific community is increasingly concerned about issues such as plastic debris and the potential impact of microplastics in the ocean.