The report “Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet” (Center for International Environmental Law, 2019) examines plastic’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and considers a number of responses to the crisis, as listed below.
High-Impact Interventions to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Plastic Life Cycle
- Stop the production and use of single-use, disposable plastic products
- Stop development of new oil, gas and petrochemical infrastructure
- Foster the transition to zero-waste communities
- Implement extended producer responsibility as a critical component of circular economies
- Set and enforce ambitious targets and monitoring requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, including plastic production
Medium-Impact Interventions that May Benefit Climate or Sustainable Development Goals but Not Both
- Reduce construction of new petrochemical and plastic manufacturing infrastructure
- Reduce new pipeline and well pad construction
- Identify and fix leaking pipes and tanks
- Beach cleanups
- River controls (catchment areas below artificial barriers)
Low-Impact Interventions that Do Little to Safeguard the Climate or the Planet
- Mandate offsetting reforestation projects
- Use renewable energy sources throughout plastic supply chain
- Ocean plastic recycling
- Maximise energy efficiency throughout plastic supply chain
- Modern landfill
- Mandate capturing gas vs. loss (flaring/venting)
False Solutions
- Biodegradable plastic
- Use bio-feedstocks in petrochemical and plastic manufacturing
- Plastic-eating organisms
- Ocean cleanup
- Use chemically recycled feedstocks in petrochemical and plastic manufacturing
- Further integrate petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical, and plastic manufacturing
- Waste-to-energy
See also: “How Does Plastic Affect Climate Change?” (OneSharedEarth, 2020)
