Climate Conversations: Reimagining Household Products

Most of the household products we use in our day-to-day lives are derived from fossil carbon sources, from toiletries and cleaning supplies to plastic packaging and pharmaceuticals. When these products reach end of life, their disposal and decay results in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to climate change. Achieving the nation’s climate and sustainability goals will require finding new methods for manufacturing these essential consumer products from non-fossil carbon sources, such as carbon dioxide, and ensuring that their life cycle from production to disposal does not contribute additional GHG emissions. Moderated by Craig Bettenhausen (Chemical & Engineering News), Zara Summers (LanzaTech) and Jenny Yang (University of California, Irvine) discussed the emerging technologies, identified key challenges, and considered necessary changes to current policy, economic, and regulatory structures. 

Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action is a monthly webinar series from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that aims to convene high-level, cross-cutting, nonpartisan conversations about issues relevant to policy action on climate change.