Stemming the Plastic-Climate Crisis

Plastic pollution is a global environmental, human health and climate crisis. Globally, plastic pollution has doubled in the past two decades, creating islands of plastic in our oceans and entering the food we eat and water we drink. Plastic production is toxic to communities and wildlife. And on top of these ills, plastic is sourced from fossil fuels, and carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are emitted throughout the life cycle of plastics.

Yet despite the widespread harms of plastic, global plastic production is still growing. Over the past 70 years, production of plastic has soared from 2 million tons in 1950 to 460 million tons in 2019. Unless something is done, current rates of plastic production could double again by 2040 (Pew 2020; OECD 2022). This kind of growth will result in the plastics industry exceeding its carbon budget by five times, resulting in a trajectory toward global warming of 3.5 degrees Celsius by 2050 (Zero Waste Europe 2022).

About 44% of plastic produced is for single-use plastic packaging: plastic that is used once and then disposed of. And this rise in single-use plastic is no accident. Oil and gas companies are actively working to expand plastic production to help sustain company profits. Petrochemicals are already the number one driver for global oil demand and are predicted to account for half of global oil consumption by 2050 (IEA 2018).

The positive news is that there is a key window of opportunity at hand to change these trends. With a new Global Plastics Treaty underway, national governments, civil society and concerned citizens have a critical opportunity to take action. A treaty that is designed to reduce the amount of plastic is possible, and this is the kind of treaty we need to put the brakes on plastic’s runaway climate impacts.