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Repository

 

Below is sampling of the nearly 6,400 peer-reviewed papers reviewed for the Project's Frontiers in Environmental Science and additional reports cited in the "Plastics: Exposing Their Climate Impacts" report. Many of those publications are included in the free, public repository of resources on climate-relevant plastic impacts that the Project has assembled. The repository and publications below are grouped into the three major categories of plastic's impacts on climate. 

Climate Impact #1:
Emissions of greenhouse gases and black carbon from the plastics lifecycle

Plastic lifecycle by Chris Boutillier.jpg

Greenhouse gas emissions from industry. Photo credit Roxanne Desgagnes on Unsplash

The following documents help identify and quantify the emissions of greenhouse gas emissions (including methane and ethylene) and black carbon across the lifecycle of plastics, from fossil fuel extraction to end-of-useful-life treatment or degradation in the environment:

 

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Climate Impact #2:
The impact of plastics on carbon cycling including sequestration

Microplastics in zooplankton. Photo credit Cole et al. 

These documents help identify and quantify the climate-relevant impacts of plastics on carbon cycling, including on carbon fluxes, sources, and sinks:

Climate Impact #3:
The impact of plastics on the Earth's radiation budget

Ocean albedo by Roxanne Desgagnes.jpg

Ice cover and atmospheric aerosols affect the Earth's radiation budget. Photo credit Chris Boutillier on Unsplash

These resources investigate the changes in Earth surface albedo, direct aerosol effects, and/or indirect aerosol effects due to environmental plastics:

Also see for all three categories of impacts:

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