The United Nations warns that plastics generated 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, 3.4 per cent of the global total, with production expected to triple by 2060.
Less than 10 per cent of the seven billion tonnes of waste has been recycled, as 193 member States negotiate a binding treaty.
The warning issued on Wednesday highlights the scale of plastics’ contribution to global emissions.
Beyond visible waste, the UN links plastics directly to the climate emergency. “The rise in plastic pollution is not only extremely harmful to the planet’s biodiversity but also contributes to climate change.”
The environmental footprint begins at production. “Some 98 per cent of single-use plastic produced today is made of petrochemicals, components derived from oil and gas.”
It adds that the extraction and transport of those fossil fuels, and the manufacturing and disposal of plastics, all create carbon emissions that are responsible for global warming.
The statement stresses the need for a broader energy transition. “To limit climate change, the world needs to transition away from fossil fuels.”
Although oil consumption is declining in certain sectors, plastics remain a significant driver of demand. “Oil is increasingly replaced by renewable energy in the power sector, and the use of oil in road transport and electricity generation is dropping significantly.”
However, the booming production of plastics and other products made from oil and gas is keeping the demand for oil high.
Petrochemicals are projected to dominate oil demand growth, expected to account for more than a third of the growth in world oil demand to 2030, and nearly half the growth to 2050.
In response to mounting concerns, governments begun negotiating a global agreement. “In 2022, the 193 United Nations Member States agreed to develop an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, tackling the full life cycle of plastics, from production to use and waste management.”
Plastics’ environmental impact stretches across ecosystems. They also damage soil, poison groundwater and harm living creatures.
The organisation says that waste can persist in the environment for centuries, whether in a river, the ocean, or on land.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “about 22 per cent of all plastic waste ends up in the environment, much of it in the ocean, harming marine life.”
Microplastics are increasingly detected in the human body. “Through food, water and packaging, microplastics also end up in our bodies, in our lungs, livers, spleens and kidneys.”
Waste management remains a global challenge. “Two-thirds of all plastic waste comes from single-use and short-lived plastic products.” Of the “seven billion tonnes of plastic waste generated globally to date, less than 10 percent has been recycled.”
To advance negotiations, an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to end Plastic Pollution was established to develop an international legally binding instrument.
“We know what this instrument must cover,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. “Criteria for plastic products, including existing identified unnecessary single-use and short-lived products. Design and performance for circularity. Managing the end of life of plastic, including legacy plastics.”
Alongside diplomatic efforts, individuals are urged to act. People are encouraged to speak up about plastic pollution, particularly when businesses rely on single-use plastic products.
Consumers are advised to reuse items instead of buying new products, shop second-hand and repair what you can, and to choose products sold in reusable packaging wherever available.
Other recommended steps include participating in litter clean-ups, reselling usable goods, petitioning governments to eliminate single-use plastics, and educating others about the crisis.
With production rising sharply and recycling rates remaining low, the UN’s message is unequivocal: without urgent reform across the entire life cycle of plastics, the environmental and human costs will continue to escalate.
