Davos 2019 - Press Conference: How to deal with the Electronic Waste Crisis?
Channel: World Economic Forum
Date: 2019-02-05

A new report released by the World Economic Forum and 7 UN organizations today reports that each year, approximately 50 million tonnes of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) are produced, equivalent in weight to all commercial aircraft ever built. If nothing is done, the amount of waste will more than double by 2050, to 120 million tonnes annually. Only 20% of this is recycled. The World Economic Forum and UN heads involved have vowed to change this and are using the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) to do so. Today the Global Environment Facility, UN Environment and the Nigerian government announce a $2m investment in creating an e-waste system in Nigeria, with the aim of replicating it across Africa; and a new report profiles the new technologies which could change the system.

Speakers:
· Frans van Houten, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Philips, Netherlands.
· Naoko Ishii, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility, Washington DC.
· Leanne Kemp, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Everledger, United Kingdom.
· Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva.

Moderator:
· Georg Schmitt, Head of Corporate Affairs, World Economic Forum.

http://www.weforum.org/