22 Apr 2024 --- Ahead of the fourth round of UN’s negotiations for an international plastics treaty in Ottawa, Canada, from April 23–29, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has released a study revealing plastic production’s “enormous” climate impact, reinforcing the importance of mandatory production cuts in the Global Plastic Treaty. The report’s key findings include that plastics’ impact on the climate starts with extraction: 75% of all GHG emissions from primary plastic production happen before the polymerization stage. LBNL explains that to fully capture, measure, evaluate and address the impacts of plastic pollution, assessment and regulatory controls must consider the complete lifecycle, beginning with extraction.
