Welcome Speech: Clean World Conference 2019, Tallinn

Friday, 25.01.2019, 03:23 / SEISUKOHAD / RSS

Ladies and gentlemen, dear participants of the Clean World Conference!

I have the privilege to welcome you on behalf of the Riigikogu, the Estonian Parliament.
Warm welcome also to the whole world clean-up community!

You, the most active part of the world clean-up community, are gathered here in Tallinn for a noble cause – to discuss and find further solutions and possible joint actions how to manage waste sustainably and to preserve resources and how to keep the world clean and healthy.

I have always considered myself, in my everyday life, as an environmentally-thinking person. I don’t use plastic tableware or single-use plastic coffee pods, I don’t left garbage behind me, I am always giving to recycling the plastic containers I have used. I am also aware, for years, about the damage plastic causes to our nature and oceans and wildlife.

But the real wake-up call for me was the first Estonian Lets do it day in 2008 when I saw the damage the garbage causes to the beautiful Estonian countryside. Since, I have seen garbage and waste in many places and in many countries including in Georgia where I was participating as a volunteer in the World Cleanup Day in September 2018 and most recently in a desert in Africa I was visiting as a tourist.

We are in the middle of a plastic pollution crisis. It’s a global problem so we must think and find solutions globally. But we have also to act locally. The Governments, the local authorities, the companies – they all have to assume their responsibilities in order to promote the sustainable consumption, shape our waste management and reuse of recycled material.
In the same time, I also strongly believe that the civil society and every single person action or inaction counts, and every person can make the difference. We all can change our mindset and consumer habits and avoid for example the single use products or buy less wasteful products, etc etc

Inaction is not an option!
So, let’s do it for the benefit of ourselves, for the future generations and for our planet!
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a pleasant stay and fruitful discussions here in Tallinn!