Professor Jonathan Cullen, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
Plastics are ubiquitous in modern society. The attractiveness and popularity of plastics stems from their range of properties, their cost-effectiveness and the utility they deliver in society. Plastic production grew rapidly from the 1950s, driven by an ever-increasing range of new polymer materials with exceptional properties-being strong, lightweight, durable, and low-cost-and the many new products on offer. However, rising demand for plastics and the sheer diversity of plastic products available make action to achieve net zero emission targets especially challenging and pressing.
Plastics are hard to live with and hard to live without. The positive social and economic impacts of the petrochemical sector are accompanied by a huge environmental burden. Today, we make about 420 Mt of plastic products, resulting in 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, or 3.4% of global emissions. By 2060, emissions from the plastics lifecycle are set to more than double, reaching 4.3 billion tonnes of GHG emissions. Climate action requires a radical new relationship between consumers and plastic manufacturers.
What to do about plastics? This talk draws from five years of research at Cambridge, aimed at understanding the GHG impact of plastics across the full lifecycle (production, use and disposal) and exploring all possible options for mitigating the carbon impacts of plastics production.
For more information about upcoming lectures see www.csar.org.uk