Biochemical Conversion Division, Sardar Swaran Singh, National Institute of Bioenergy, Kapurthala, Punjab, India.
Department of Molecular Biology & Genetic Engineering, School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara-Jalandhar, India.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jun 1;875:162627. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162627. Epub 2023 Mar 7.
Plastics are fossil fuel-derived products. The emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) during different processes involved in the lifecycle of plastic-related products are a significant threat to the environment as it contributes to global temperature rise. By 2050, a high volume of plastic production will be responsible for up to 13 % of our planet's total carbon budget. The global emissions of GHG and their persistence in the environment have depleted Earth's residual carbon resources and have generated an alarming feedback loop. Each year at least 8 million tonnes of discarded plastics are entering our oceans, creating concerns regarding plastic toxicity on marine biota as they end up in the food chain and ultimately affect human health. The unsuccessful management of plastic waste and its presence on the riverbanks, coastlines, and landscapes leads to the emission of a higher percentage of GHG in the atmosphere. The persistence of microplastics is also a significant threat to the fragile and extreme ecosystem containing diverse life forms with low genetic variation, making them vulnerable to climatic change. In this review, we have categorically discussed the contribution of plastic and plastic waste to global climate change covering the current plastic production and future trends, the types of plastics and plastic materials used globally, plastic lifecycle and GHG emission, and how microplastics become a major threat to ocean carbon sequestration and marine health. The conjoining impact of plastic pollution and climate change on the environment and human health has also been discussed in detail. In the end, we have also discussed some strategies to reduce the climate impact of plastics.
塑料是源自化石燃料的产品。与塑料相关产品生命周期中涉及的不同过程所产生的温室气体（GHG）排放，对环境构成了重大威胁，因为这会导致全球气温上升。到 2050 年，大量的塑料生产将占地球总碳预算的 13%左右。温室气体的全球排放及其在环境中的持续存在，已经耗尽了地球剩余的碳资源，并产生了一个令人震惊的反馈循环。每年至少有 800 万吨废弃塑料进入我们的海洋，这引发了人们对海洋生物群塑料毒性的担忧，因为它们最终进入食物链，并最终影响人类健康。塑料废物管理不善，以及它们在河岸、海岸线和景观中的存在，导致大气中温室气体的排放比例更高。微塑料的持久性也是对脆弱和极端生态系统的重大威胁，这些生态系统包含了具有低遗传变异的多种生命形式，使它们容易受到气候变化的影响。在这篇综述中，我们明确讨论了塑料和塑料废物对全球气候变化的贡献，涵盖了当前的塑料生产和未来趋势、全球使用的塑料类型和塑料材料、塑料生命周期和温室气体排放，以及微塑料如何成为海洋碳封存和海洋健康的主要威胁。还详细讨论了塑料污染和气候变化对环境和人类健康的共同影响。最后，我们还讨论了一些减少塑料对气候影响的策略。
