Plastic pollution and climate change are among the most pressing environmental challenges we face today, and many are unaware of how closely these issues are interconnected. With growing pressure to address climate change and declining fossil fuel demand, plastic production has become a fallback for the oil industry. In fact, oil giant BP projects that plastic will account for 95% of the net growth in oil demand until 2040. The industry is leveraging its influence to drive virgin plastic production by lobbying against plastic regulations and promoting recycling as a solution—one that falls short of addressing the root problem.
2024-10-30
Plastic pollution and climate change are interconnected issues
The Role of Plastic in Climate Change
Nearly all plastics (99%) are made from fossil fuels, and their production is highly energy-intensive. From extracting oil and gas to refining and manufacturing, each step emits greenhouse gases (GHG). In 2019, plastic production released 2.2 billion metric tons of GHG, or 5.4% of global emissions, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study. To put this in perspective, that year the combined emissions of the aviation and shipping industries totaled 1.3 billion tons. At this rate, plastic production could account for as much as 31% of global GHG emissions by 2050.
The transportation footprint of plastic exacerbates its environmental toll. A single plastic product may travel thousands of miles before reaching consumers. For example, crude oil may be extracted from the Gulf of Mexico, refined in Texas, processed into petrochemicals at a separate facility, shipped to a factory in China for manufacturing, and finally distributed worldwide. A report from the Center for International Environmental Law estimates that the transport and extraction of natural gas alone for U.S. plastic production emits the equivalent of 2.7 million cars’ worth of carbon annually.
When plastic waste is incinerated, it releases additional GHG. Burning plastic packaging emits around 16 million tons of GHG annually—enough to power 2.6 million homes. This figure excludes the emissions from open burning, common in some developing countries, which releases toxic pollutants and worsens air quality.
Plastic’s Indirect Climate Impact
Plastic pollution also indirectly contributes to climate change by impacting ecosystems that play a critical role in carbon sequestration, especially marine ecosystems. Oceans help capture and store carbon dioxide, but when plastic disrupts marine life, it hinders this function. Plankton, for example, are vital for controlling atmospheric carbon. These microorganisms account for only 1–2% of the world’s plant carbon, but process between 30 and 50 billion metric tons of carbon annually, equivalent to about 40% of total global carbon processing. Microplastics, however, interfere with plankton’s ability to sequester carbon, reducing the ocean’s capacity to mitigate climate change.
Moreover, plastic pollution may alter the Albedo effect, which measures how much sunlight a surface reflects. Bright surfaces like snow and ice reflect sunlight, while darker surfaces absorb it. Microplastics mixed with snow and ice in polar regions accelerate melting by absorbing sunlight. This loss of reflective surfaces intensifies global warming, although further research is needed to measure the extent of this effect.
source：https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2024/9/23/plastic-pollution-climate-change-are-connected
