Alarming Report Considers Plastic Pollution as a Planetary Emergency

A new analysis warns that the world's plastic pollution issue is a "planetary emergency" on par with climate change and biodiversity loss.

(Photo : Tom Fisk)

EIA Investigation

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has asked countries worldwide to sign a UN treaty to commit to legally enforceable objectives for reducing plastic waste.

According to the EIA, plastic pollution directly harms our health, causes biodiversity loss, exacerbates climate change, and poses a danger of "large-scale negative environmental impacts."

Plastic has been discovered at the ocean's deepest depths, on the highest mountain summits, human organs, and lonely and abandoned islands.

Global Agreements

(Photo : Kevin Krejci)

The organization stated that dedicated global agreements to combat biodiversity loss and climate change have been in existence for almost 30 years.

However, there is presently no comparable program in place to combat plastic pollution, which it describes as "one of the most widespread and harmful environmental contaminants in existence."

Ticking Clock

'There is a terrible ticking clock,' said Tom Gammage, an ocean campaigner with the Environmental Investigation Agency, a non-governmental organization with headquarters in London and Washington, DC.

'In line with rising plastics manufacturing, plastic emissions into the seas are expected to quadruple by 2040.

'While the visual form of plastic pollution has sparked widespread alarm, the great majority of plastic pollution's effects remain undetectable.'

Plastic Pollution and Planetary Emergency

Connecting the Dots: Plastic Pollution and the Planetary Emergency brings together the latest scientific evidence on the impact of plastics on climate, biodiversity, human health, and the environment in a new study titled Connecting the Dots: Plastic Pollution and the Planetary Emergency.

According to prior calculations, 250 million tons of plastic will be in the oceans by 2025.

By 2040, it might reach about 700 million tons, and by 2050, the weight of plastic in all of the world's oceans would likely far exceed the weight of all fish.

The paper attributes 'hazardous' plastic pollution to an overabundance of virgin polymers, which are plastic resins that have been manufactured from scratch without the use of recycled components.

Virgin Plastics

Virgin plastics are less ecologically friendly than recycled plastic, which contributes to developing a 'circular economy,' in which material resources are reused as much as possible.

According to the paper, virgin plastic production and consumption have reached unsustainable levels, owing to the oil and gas industry's heavy investment in creating petrochemicals, which are chemical compounds generated from petroleum through refining.

Emission

Plastic manufacturing emits around 1.89 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) each tonne of virgin plastic produced.

'The harm caused by uncontrolled overproduction of virgin plastics and their life cycle is irrevocable - this is a threat to human civilization and the planet's basic ability to maintain a habitable environment,' Gammage added.

The EIA stated that toxic contamination from plastic poses a concern at every step of its life cycle, from when it becomes a substance until it can disintegrate in the environment.

Plastic Pollution

(Photo : Photo by Gaston Brito Miserocchi/Getty Images)

Plastic pollution is not only linked to climate change, but it also feeds into it, according to the agency.

The production of plastics necessitates the combustion of enormous amounts of fossil fuels such crude oil, natural gas, and coal.

Plastics' overall life-cycle emissions were expected to be 1.78 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015. (GtCO2 e).

'For context, the whole plastics life-cycle would be the world's fifth-highest emitter of greenhouse gases,' according to the paper.

The organization also emphasizes the threat to Earth's animals, which can become entangled in plastic packaging or mistake plastic for food, both of which can be lethal.

According to research published in 2021, over 25% of polar bears had consumed plastic.

'The most evident and well-documented consequences on animals and biodiversity are ingestion of and entanglement in plastic garbage,' according to the EIA.

'At least 914 species are directly damaged by either ingestion or entanglement, according to our research - 701 by ingestion and 354 by entanglement.'

According to the report, 'This includes all marine turtle species, over half of all assessed seabird and marine mammal species, 69 freshwater birds, and 49 land birds from 53 families.

Overall Damage

Overall, the paper contends that climate change, biodiversity loss, and plastic pollution are linked since the same thing causes them.

The study states, "Environmental crises often fight for public and policy attention, with each crisis having its band of proponents who say their issue is the one most in need of knowledge, interest, and financial assistance."

'The reality, on the other hand, is quite different. Environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution are interconnected; the basic causes are the same - overconsumption of finite resources.'

Also Read: Traces of Plastic Found in Air from the World's Highest Peaks

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Tags plastic pollution, Planetary Emergency, Planetary Risk