single-use plastics

Making plastic industry sustainable is corporate self-interest

Making plastic industry sustainable is corporate self-interest

Plastics are essential for Asia, but for Ian Bremmer the way the industry works right now is incompatible with the region's targets to fight climate change. Very soon, though, he predicts there will be "immense gravitational pull" to do things differently. Once the way Asian companies use plastics now becomes outdated, he says, it's only a matter of time before they change out of their own self-interest.

To invest in recycling plastics, embrace risk and watch where you divest: JBIC's Tadashi Maeda

To invest in recycling plastics, embrace risk and watch where you divest: JBIC's Tadashi Maeda

Tadashi Maeda, governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, believes there's huge potential for new technology to solve the global problem of plastic pollution via recycling. But to do so, he says companies should first be a bit less risk-averse with new ways of doing things, and don't rush to divest from countries that not only consume a lot of single-use plastics but also burn much coal like Indonesia or Vietnam.

“Fine words” on climate aren’t enough: UN Environment Chief Inger Andersen

GZERO World Clips

“Fine words” on climate aren’t enough: UN Environment Chief Inger Andersen

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks with Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Program. Will the UN Climate Conference (COP26) produce lasting change or just more hot air? The world's top 20 economies, Andersen says, are responsible for over three-quarters of global carbon emissions, so if they "make the requisite shifts, frankly we are out of the climate crisis."

Single-use plastics are the new ozone layer, says UN environment chief

GZERO World Clips

Single-use plastics are the new ozone layer, says UN environment chief

If you get caught with a plastic bag in Nairobi these days, you're on the hook for $1,000. That's because Kenya has signed up to a "circular economy" that bans single-use plastics, so there's no choice but to recycle. UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen says more nations are finally responding to growing public awareness about plastic pollution, which she thinks could drive policy change like the hole in the ozone layer did decades ago.

"We just don't have time to mess around" on plastics pollution

"We just don't have time to mess around" on plastics pollution

Plastic pollution has caused a lot of damage to the environment — including a staggering loss of biodiversity that will soon affect humans. For Climate Bonds Initiative CEO Sean Kidney, the critical way to reverse this trend is to switch all production to biodegradable right now. "It's got to be everything, and we've got to do it fast. We just don't have time to mess around. There's been a lot of talk, a lot of talk for 10 years, not enough action. Whew. Time to change."

To save the oceans, refuse & raise awareness about single-use plastics, says Hannah Testa

To save the oceans, refuse & raise awareness about single-use plastics, says Hannah Testa

We always hear about the "three Rs" — reduce, reuse, and recycle — of sustainable waste management. But when it comes to single-use plastics, climate activist Hannah Testa likes to add two more: refuse and raise awareness. What's more, she says it's crucial to connect the problem with climate by showing the damage that single-use plastic waste is doing to the oceans, the world's biggest carbon sink and whose health is a good temperature check on the entire planet.