Plastic & Climate

This executive summary from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) details the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the entire plastic lifecycle, from fossil fuel extraction to waste management. It argues that planned expansions in plastic production threaten the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C, potentially consuming a significant portion of the remaining carbon budget by 2050.

• In 2019, the combined emissions from the production and incineration of plastic were estimated to exceed 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, which is equivalent to the emissions produced by 189 five-hundred-megawatt coal power plants.
• The plastic lifecycle generates emissions across four primary stages: the extraction and transport of fossil fuels, refining and manufacturing, waste management, and the ongoing degradation of plastic in the environment.
• Plastic refining is one of the fastest-growing and most greenhouse-gas-intensive industries in manufacturing. In 2015, 24 ethylene facilities in the US emitted 17.5 million metric tons of CO2e, while global emissions from ethylene cracking that year ranged between 184.3 and 213.0 million metric tons of CO2e.
• Incineration is the primary driver of emissions within plastic waste management. In 2015, US emissions from plastic incineration were estimated at 5.9 million metric tons of CO2e, and global emissions from the incineration of plastic packaging alone totaled 16 million metric tons of CO2e.
• Plastic pollution in the ocean may impair the planet's largest natural carbon sink. Microplastics can contaminate phytoplankton and zooplankton, potentially reducing the ability of phytoplankton to fix carbon via photosynthesis and affecting the zooplankton that transport carbon to the deep ocean.
• If current growth trajectories continue, annual emissions from plastic production and incineration could reach 1.34 gigatons by 2030 and 2.8 gigatons by 2050. Cumulative emissions by 2050 are projected to exceed 56 gigatons of CO2e, representing 10–13 percent of the remaining carbon budget required to limit warming to 1.5°C.
• The most effective way to mitigate the climate impacts of plastic is to immediately reduce its production and use, stop the development of new petrochemical infrastructure, and keep fossil fuels in the ground.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). Plastic & Climate. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-Executive-Summary-2019.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Plastic & Climate. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-Executive-Summary-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Plastic & Climate |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-Executive-Summary-2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndplastic, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Plastic \& Climate}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-Executive-Summary-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }