Reduce your use of plastic
Published: 10 Dec 2021
The connection between plastics and climate change emissions has taken very much a back seat to the very visible plastic litter pollution we have all become painfully aware of.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has however predicted that plastics and other petrochemical products will help drive global oil demand just as oil demand for transport reduces.
Currently, petrochemicals account for around 12% of global oil demand. This is expected to increase due to demand for more plastics, fertilisers and other products and are expected to account for more than a third of the growth in oil demand by 2030 and nearly half of demand growth by 2050 (more than shipping and aviation!).
And it’s not just the added oil and gas emissions we need to be worried about with plastics - several Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are used in the manufacture of some plastics.
By reducing our consumption of plastic products, fertilisers, clothes and detergents etc, not only can we reduce the amount of harmful chemicals we use but we can also help reduce our climate emissions.
See our Zero Waste section for ideas on how to reduce your plastic use, our Green Spaces section for action on fertilisers and our Fashion and Textiles section, for ideas on clothing.
Zero waste - things you can do