[ti:UN Countries Agree ‘to End Plastic Pollution’] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]United Nations countries have agreed [00:03.04]to create a treaty that deals with plastic pollution [00:07.20]in the world's oceans, rivers and land. [00:12.72]The U.N. Environment Assembly voted Wednesday [00:16.52]at its meeting in Kenya's capital Nairobi [00:20.32]for a resolution "to end plastic pollution." [00:25.52]It is the beginning of international negotiations [00:29.24]designed to produce a treaty by 2024. [00:34.80]"Today we wrote history. Plastic pollution has grown [00:39.36]into an epidemic," said Espen Barth Eide. [00:43.72]He is Norway's minister for environment and climate [00:47.60]and the assembly's president. [00:50.92]"With today's resolution [00:53.12]we are officially on track for a cure," he added. [00:58.44]Negotiators debated on the resolution for a week. [01:03.72]Plans presented by Peru, Rwanda, India and Japan [01:09.44]were used as the basis for a global plan [01:13.20]to prevent and reduce plastic pollution. [01:18.28]The treaty would cover the production, [01:20.88]design and removal of plastics. [01:25.96]"It is not always you get such a major environment deal," [01:30.68]said Inger Andersen. [01:33.76]She is executive director of the U.N. Environment Program. [01:39.60]Andersen called the agreement [01:41.44]by representatives of 175 member countries [01:45.56]"the most significant global environmental governance decision [01:50.16]since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015." [01:55.12]A recent study by the Pew Research Center [01:58.36]says that the worldwide plastic industry [02:01.68]is valued at $522.6 billion. [02:07.52]The study also reported that 11 million metric tons of plastic [02:12.48]end up in the oceans every year. [02:16.64]The environmental group Greenpeace said the U.N. decision [02:21.24]is a "big, bold step to end plastic pollution." [02:27.04]Graham Forbes is head of the global plastics project [02:30.76]at Greenpeace USA. [02:34.56]He said that until a strong international treaty is signed, [02:39.00]the organization and its allies will keep working [02:43.20]toward a world free of plastic pollution. [02:47.88]"This is a big step that will keep the pressure on big oil [02:52.20]and big brands to reduce their plastic footprint [02:56.20]and switch their business models to refill and reuse," Forbes said. [03:03.32]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM