The Climate Costs of Plastic

The policy note was co-authored by the World Bank and University of Portsmouth based on the findings and literature review conducted by the University of Portsmouth. The objective of this research is to provide a better understanding
of the climate costs of plastic pollution along the whole value chain, as well as from the direct and indirect impacts of plastic pollution on adaptation and mitigation.

Overall, the upstream stages of the plastic life cycle generate most climate costs and should be high priority targets for action to reduce GHG emissions. Emissions from end-of-life stages contribute substantially less globally, but have indirect climate impacts at multiple levels, including ecosystem health, and economic sectors including tourism and fisheries.