China , Indonesia , the Philippines and Thailand have pledged their commitment to reducing plastic pollution in the world ’s seas at the United Nations ( UN ) first - ever ocean summit . The Chinese government claims to have developed a 20-year strategy to combat such pollution , Indonesia is encouraging mass education about plastic waste for schoolchildren and the Philippines is formulating new laws to tackle the problem . The pledges have not yet been formalised and have been criticised as inadequate by campaigners . However , UN officials commented that the moves were encouraging and showed that nations were beginning to take the issue seriously .
China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand have pledged their commitment to reducing plastic pollution in the world’s seas at the United Nations (UN) first-ever ocean summit. The Thai government claims to have initiated a 20-year strategy to combat such pollution, Indonesia is introducing mass education about plastic waste for schoolchildren and the Philippines is formulating new laws to tackle the problem. The pledges have not yet been formalised and have been criticised as inadequate by campaigners. However, UN officials commented that the moves were encouraging and showed that nations were beginning to take the issue seriously.