El plástico y la salud

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the full life cycle of plastic, from fossil fuel extraction to waste management and environmental degradation. It warns that planned expansions in plastic production threaten the global goal of limiting temperature increases to 1.5°C, projecting that cumulative emissions could consume up to 13% of the remaining carbon budget by 2050.

• Plastic life cycle emissions are projected to increase significantly if current production and use trends continue. By 2030, annual emissions could reach 1.34 gigatones, and by 2050, they could rise to 2.8 gigatones of CO2e, which is equivalent to the emissions of 615 coal-fired power plants of 500 megawatts.
• The cumulative greenhouse gas emissions from plastic could consume a substantial portion of the remaining global carbon budget. By 2050, these emissions could exceed 56 gigatones of CO2e, representing between 10% and 13% of the total remaining carbon budget required to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
• GHG emissions occur at every stage of the plastic life cycle: fossil fuel extraction and transport, refining and manufacturing, waste management, and the ongoing impact of plastic in the environment.
• In the United States, specific emission sources include 24 ethylene facilities that produced 17.5 million metric tons of CO2e in 2015. Additionally, fossil fuel extraction and transport for plastic production in the US accounted for at least 9.5-10.5 million metric tons of CO2e per year in 2015.
• Global emissions from ethylene production via cracking were estimated between 184.3 and 213.0 million metric tons of CO2e in 2015. Outside the US, approximately 108 million metric tons of CO2e per year are attributable to plastic production, primarily from extraction and refining.
• Incineration is the primary driver of emissions in plastic waste management. In 2015, plastic incineration in the US emitted an estimated 5.9 million metric tons of CO2e, while global incineration of plastic packaging emissions totaled 16 million metric tons of CO2e.
• Plastic in the environment releases greenhouse gases as it degrades, with higher rates observed on coasts, riverbanks, and landscapes than on the ocean surface. Furthermore, microplastics may impair the ocean's biological carbon pump by reducing the ability of phytoplankton to fix carbon and affecting the survival and metabolism of zooplankton.
• The report recommends immediate reductions in plastic production and use, ending the development of new petrochemical infrastructure, transitioning to zero-waste communities, and implementing extended producer responsibility to effectively mitigate climate impacts.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). El plástico y la salud. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ciel-ES-GHG-Spanish-10.19-01.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. El plástico y la salud. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ciel-ES-GHG-Spanish-10.19-01.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=El plástico y la salud |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ciel-ES-GHG-Spanish-10.19-01.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndplstico, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{El plástico y la salud}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ciel-ES-GHG-Spanish-10.19-01.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }