Recycling lags far behind the mass of electronic waste created, including discarded phones and computers, the UN has said. Only 20% of electronic waste is properly recycled, causing considerable health risks.
The United Nations warned on Wednesday that waste from electronic devices is creating an environmental catastrophe.
A joint report by the UN's International Telecommunications Union and the research arm UNITAR said recycling lags well behind the mass of e-waste being created, including discarded mobile phones, computers, televisions, and other devices.
The UN report said around 62 million tons of e-waste were generated in 2022. The number could reach 82 million tons by 2030, according to the report.
The UN said unmanaged electronic waste leads to 45,000 tons of harmful plastics and 58 tons of mercury entering the environment each year.
The report said only 22% of the e-waste mass was properly collected and recycled in 2022. Much of the waste is burned, thrown in landfills or improperly recycled.
On average, every person on Earth generates around 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds) of e-waste each year.
E-waste recycling rates are highest in developed countries and lowest in Africa.
However, a substantial portion of the world's e-waste is sent to developing countries from wealthier countries.
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.