The Problem
Plastics are made from and powered by fossil fuels—oil, gas and coal. Globally, we use as much oil to make plastic as we do for global aviation. By 2050, 20% of our oil use will be for plastics. As we transition away from fossil fuels for energy and towards a clean energy future, the fossil fuel industry is investing its vast financial resources to increase new plastic production as demand for plastics continues to grow. If we don’t reduce how much plastic we make and use, we won’t be able to leave behind fossil fuels and their devastating impacts on the climate as well as our ocean and communities.
Already, plastics are responsible for 3-4% of global greenhouse gas emissions; if they continue to grow, this will triple by 2050. Further, microplastics—tiny plastic particles and fibers—can harm bacteria and plankton in the ocean. These organisms are essential for absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and are a big reason why the ocean has effectively moderated Earth’s climate throughout history. Unless we reduce plastics, we’ll not only produce more emissions, but we’ll also damage the natural systems that are helping to slow climate change—a combination that will spell disaster for global efforts to limit climate change to livable levels that will keep our ocean and communities healthy.
When I think about my personal climate impact, I usually think about flights, or my car. Now I think about plastics in the same way. We can’t get off of fossil fuels unless we make less plastic.
Aarthi Ananthanarayanan
Director, Climate and Plastics Initiative
Growing plastic production is a major problem for coastal communities that already experience some of the damaging impacts of climate change: flooding, sea level rise and more extreme hurricanes. The petrochemical infrastructure that produces plastics is often coastal energy infrastructure—oil and gas production, refining and export facilities—that emits significant air and water pollution with severe health consequences for neighboring communities including asthma, cancer, endocrine disruption, developmental disorders and heart disease. Extreme weather, sea level rise and flooding increase risks to these facilities, making accidents and unpermitted pollution releases more likely and increasing the amount of plastics and chemical pollution entering our communities, waterways and ocean. Reducing plastic pollution will help communities stay healthy and resilient in the face of worsening climate change impacts.