Literature Collection
We surveyed nearly 6,400 peer-reviewed papers and analyzed the key ones for our Frontiers in Environmental Science paper. Below is a small sampling. The rest, along with other papers, articles, and reports that we continue to collect, are available in our free, online, annotated repository of resources on climate-relevant plastic impacts - See our "Literature Hub."
Credit: NASA
General Information:
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The entangled fates of plastics and climate change, Neil Tangri, (2025), Cambridge University Press/Cambridge Prisms: Plastics. (Cites our Frontiers in Environmental Science paper.)
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Plastics pollution exacerbates the impacts of all planetary boundaries, Patricia Villarrubia-Gomez, Bethanie Carney Almroth, Marcus Eriksen, et al. (2024), One Earth.
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Constraining the atmospheric limb of the plastic cycle, Janice Brahney, Natalie Mahowald, Marje Prank, Kimberly Ann Prather, et al, (2021), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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Role of Microplastics in Global Warming and Climate Change: A Review, Md. Sohel Parvez, et al. (2024), Water, Air & Soil Pollution
Credit: Chris Boutillier, Unsplash
Climate Impact #1: Greenhouse gases & black carbon
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Beyond Plastics (2021), "The New Coal: Plastics & Climate Change."
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C-THRU (2022), "Carbon clarity in the petrochemical supply chain."
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Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) (2019), "The hidden costs of a plastic planet." (Also available in PLOS ONE.)
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Coalition for Materials Emissions Transparency (COMET) (2022), "Making plastics emissions transparent."
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Ford, Jambeck et al. (2022), "The fundamental links between climate change and marine plastic pollution," Science of The Total Environment.
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GRID-Arendal (2024), "Climate impacts of plastics: Global actions to stem climate change and end plastic pollution."
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Nihan Karali, Nina Khanna, Nihar Shah, (2024), "Climate Impact of Primary Plastic Production," Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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Nihan Karali, Ellen Palm, Juan Baztan, Patricia Villarubia Gomes, Nina Khanna, et al. (2023), "Policy Brief: Climate change impacts of plastics," Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty.
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Royer et al. (2018), "Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment," PLOS One.
Microplastics in zooplankton. Credit: Matthew Cole
Climate Impact #2: Carbon cycling/carbon sinks
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Galgani and Loiselle (2020), "Plastic pollution impacts on marine carbon biogeochemistry," Environmental Pollution.
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Sharma et al. (2023), "Contribution of plastic and microplastic to global climate change and their conjoining impacts on the environment - A review," National Library of Medicine.
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Shen et al. (2020), "(Micro)plastic crisis: Un-ignorable contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change," Journal of Cleaner Production.
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Shen et al. (2023), "Recent advances in the research on effects of micro/nanoplastics on carbon conversion and carbon cycle: A review," Journal of Environmental Management.
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Stubbins et al. (2021), "Plastics in the Earth system," Science.
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Zhao et al. (2023). "Effects of plastic contamination on carbon fluxes in a subtropical coastal wetland of East China," Journal of Environmental Management.
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Zhu, R. et al. (2025), "A global estimate of multiecosystem photosynthesis losses under microplastic pollution," The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Climate Impact #3: Radiation budget
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Aeschlimann, Mischa et al., (2022), Microplastics and nanoplastics in the atmosphere: the potential impacts on cloud formation processes, Nature Geo Science
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Leahy (2019), Microplastics are raining down from the sky, National Geographic.
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Revell et al. (2021), Direct radiative forcing of airborne microplastics, Nature.
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Xu et al. (2023), Characterization of Microplastics in Clouds over Eastern China, ACS Publications.
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Zhang et al. (2022), "Microplastics have light-absorbing ability to enhance cryospheric melting," Advances in Climate Change Research.
Credit: Roxanne Desgagnes, Unsplash