Plastics are worse than coal for climate change. Does anyone care?
By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson | October 22, 2021 | Canada’s National Observer
Plastics are expected to contribute more to climate change than coal-powered generating plants within the next decade, a new report by U.S. environmental organization Beyond Plastics has found.
As the world moves away from oil and gas, fossil fuel companies turn to plastics in an effort to preserve their bottom lines, with dozens of new petrochemical facilities planned in North America alone.
The shift could see the U.S. plastics industry release roughly 272 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030 — equal to the yearly emissions of roughly 59 million cars. About 70 per cent of the plastic used in Canada comes from the U.S., according to a 2019 study commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The plastics industry is already a major contributor to Canada's domestic emissions. An investigation by Canada's National Observer into the country's top greenhouse gas emitters found that three plastics and petrochemical factories — two in Alberta and one in Ontario — collectively emitted about 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2019, and petrochemical companies have recently announced plans to expand their Canadian manufacturing capacity further.
"A lot of people don't fully understand how plastic is intimately connected to climate change," said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics. "The petrochemical industry has found a new market for fossil fuel — plastics — and (it) has big plans for expanding plastics infrastructure that, in turn, will drastically increase emissions."
It's a problem that has received minimal attention from politicians and businesses. While some countries, including Canada, are starting to tackle plastic pollution, few have focused on the industry's climate impacts. It's a gap reflected in the minimal attention expected to be granted to the industry at the upcoming COP26 climate conference, she said.