What the Experts are Saying About the "Plastics: Exposing Their Climate Impacts" report

What The Experts Are Saying

Sylvia Earle, President and Chairman of Mission Blue / The Sylvia Earle Alliance, National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence

“We now know that plastics, from their start to their waste, are polluting the oceans and also fueling the climate crisis. This new research makes it clear: every stage of the plastic lifecycle emits greenhouse gases, and plastics may undermine the ocean’s ability to store carbon. The evidence is growing, but so are the gaps in our understanding, and we have to fill in the gaps in our knowledge. We cannot afford to treat the ocean as a dumping ground and ignore the climate costs of plastic. It is time to act decisively–reduce our reliance on plastics, invest in science, and protect the blue heart of the planet before these changes become irreversible.”

Monica P. Medina, Distinguished Fellow at Conservation International and former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment, and Science

“This seminal report provides further evidence that the climate impacts of plastics have to be reckoned with. The scale of the problem still needs to be determined, but the plastics treaty negotiations in August present a clear opportunity for nations to begin to take action to factor the climate impact of plastics into the discussion.”

Jo Banner, Co-Founder and Co-Director, The Descendants Project

“Those of us who live in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley live every day with the toxicity of plastics production. It is making us sick, and now we know that its impact on the climate affects all of us. Plastics production is not just an environmental crisis - it is a continuation of a system rooted in exploitation, and in our case, echoing the legacy of slavery that still plagues Black communities today. Black and poor communities are disproportionately exposed to pollution and disease from these facilities. It’s way past time to put this ever-increasing health and climate menace under control. We must have equitable solutions now to protect our communities and reduce the harmful impacts of plastics.”

Quotes from Report Advisors

Margaret Spring, report advisor, Chief Conservation and Science Officer, Monterey Bay Aquarium:

“This report reveals a new concern to add to the list of harmful effects of plastic pollution on our health and future well-being. Research indicates plastics also pose a risk to our ocean, coastal salt marshes and mangrove ecosystems—each a critical carbon sink that could lost capacity due to plastics’ increasing pervasiveness in the environment. The report elevates the need to further investigate the impact of plastic on these critical ecosystems, to help us preserve their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide and strengthen natural carbon sequestration and removal efforts.

Dr. Dan Lashof, report advisor, Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute:

“In light of the report findings, it’s clear that we need to know more about what we’re dealing with – and what we will have to deal with if plastics production continues to grow as rapidly as projected. People have been rightly focused on the direct impacts of plastic production and waste on health, but we need to add the impacts of plastics on climate to that list of concerns.”

Dr. Karen Raubenheimer, report advisor, Senior Lecturer, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong, Australia: “Plastic pollution comes in many forms and it’s often the invisible forms that will affect us the longest. The findings of this report clearly illustrate that the climate impacts of plastics are one we can’t afford to ignore. As the authors have stressed, a solid understanding of the effects, as well as the benefits of change, are urgently needed if we are to successfully reduce the cumulative impacts on the environment we rely on so heavily.”

Quotes from Report Authors

Holly Kaufman, report author, Co-founder, The Plastics & Climate Project, Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute:

 “Our report highlights an urgent truth: plastic pollution is not only affecting the health of people and ecosystems but also increasing global warming. Even if all plastic production stopped today, most of the climate impacts from “legacy” plastics would continue. We have enough data to know that – but there are many holes in the data that we need to fill. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. If the world is going to tackle both the plastics and climate crises, we need to fully understand how one affects the other, and how much.”

Dr. Xia (Alice) Zhu, report author, Co-founder, The Plastics & Climate Project, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland:

“Although we still need to gain a fuller understanding of how and the extent to which plastics contribute to global temperature rise, we have enough knowledge to begin to incorporate plastics’ climate impacts into assessment reports, climate models, and GHG emissions scenarios. We need to know more, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction.”

Dr. John Doherty, report author, Science and Policy Analyst, Environmental Law Institute (ELI):

"With plastic production expected to increase over the next few decades, our report makes clear that plastics’ climate impacts must be factored into any credible climate strategy to achieve the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. An important thing this report highlights is that those impacts are not just from greenhouse gas emissions. The way plastics affect climate processes, like the Earth's carbon cycle, is still underappreciated and should be further studied."