Plastics production: a majority vs a minority?

The briefing highlights that global plastic polymer production is highly concentrated, with seven countries producing 66% of the world's plastics and 18 companies responsible for over half of global production. It further notes that China, Saudi Arabia, and Germany provide 80% of the feedstock subsidies among the top 15 producers, while a small group of oil and gas-producing states opposes production caps in treaty negotiations.

• In June 2025, 96 countries supported reducing primary plastic polymer production to sustainable levels during Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, while a small group of oil and gas-producing states, including Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, opposed these caps during 2024 talks in Busan, South Korea.
• Global plastic production is highly concentrated geographically; seven countries accounted for 66% of production in 2024, with China, the US, and Saudi Arabia together producing more than 50%.
• Government subsidies for plastic feedstocks are heavily concentrated among three nations: China, Saudi Arabia, and Germany, who account for 80% of the USD 26.4 billion in subsidies provided by the top 15 plastic-producing countries in 2022.
• Corporate production is also concentrated, with 18 companies estimated to produce more than half of global plastic polymers in 2021. The five largest producers—ExxonMobil, Sinopec, LyondellBasell, Saudi Aramco, and PetroChina—collectively account for nearly 25% of global production.

APA

Team, Z. (2025). Plastics production: a majority vs a minority? Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/majority-of-the-worlds-plastics-produced-by-a-small-number-of-countries-and-companies/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Plastics production: a majority vs a minority? Zero Carbon Analytics, 2025. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/majority-of-the-worlds-plastics-produced-by-a-small-number-of-countries-and-companies/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Plastics production: a majority vs a minority? |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=6 August 2025 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/majority-of-the-worlds-plastics-produced-by-a-small-number-of-countries-and-companies/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2025plastics, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Plastics production: a majority vs a minority?}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/majority-of-the-worlds-plastics-produced-by-a-small-number-of-countries-and-companies/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }