19 April 2024, Ottawa Canada - Global plastic production could by 2050 burn through nearly a fifth of the Earth’s remaining carbon budget — the amount of carbon dioxide climate scientists believe can be burned without tipping the climate into unsafe territory, a new report has found.
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that the plastics industry is a major force behind the heating of the planet and releases about four times as many planet-warming chemicals as the airline industry,
Pacific Island countries are already at the frontline of the climate crisis, with Pacific leaders declaring it is the biggest existential threat to Pacific communities. Ninety-nine percent of plastics come from fossil fuels, and plastics production is currently on an upward trajectory with global plastic polymer production doubling between 2000-2019 and is anticipated to almost triple from 2019 levels by 2050.
The production of plastics is estimated to produce >400 million tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) per year. This figure does not include emissions from waste management (including transport), mismanagement, and degradation of plastic products.
“Plastic pollution is a ticking time bomb in the climate crisis. We are already facing serious challenges when comes to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, with plastic production projected to increase exponentially, it poses a grave threat to our ocean, environment and our people,” said Ms Majorie Wells, the First Secretary of Vanuatu to the United Nations. Vanuatu is also currently the Chair of the Pacific Small Islands Developing States.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change our relationship with plastics for the better. We urge world leaders to be ambitious and prioritize stringent measures to control plastic production. Every piece of plastic not produced is a step towards a cleaner and sustainable future for generations to come,” Ms. Wells added.
Vanuatu is one of 14 Pacific Island countries engaging in the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-4) from 23 to 29 April in Ottawa, Canada.
Approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic makes its way into our oceans each year. For the Pacific, the custodians of the world's largest ocean, this causes concern.
“We have an intricate and intimate relationship with the Ocean; one that buoys our livelihoods, way of life, culture and defines us as a Pacific people. We are not producers of plastic but we bear the brunt of a lot of plastic pollution that comes from a lot of countries that floats through the ocean to our Pacific,” said Ms. Tekura Moeka'a, the Cook Islands Manager for Environment Policy and Planning.
“My generation has always lived with plastics, it’s been a material that has been useful and growing up we didn’t know any better. But now that we have recognised it is harmful, we should use this instrument as an opportunity to address the problem. We cannot recycle our way out of this mess, we need to focus on controlling production and look for ways to incentivize alternatives,” Ms. Moeka’a added.
The fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment is taking place in Ottawa, Canada, from 23-29 April 2024
The Pacific Islands are represented by the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu through the support of the Government of Australia and the United Nations.
They are supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), working with partners the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC), The Pacific Community (SPC), Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), University of Wollongong, WWF and Massey University.
For more information visit: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-4