We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Who is governing the global plastics crisis? Mapping the global plastics governance landscape
AI summary Read the abstract
Despite growing alarm over plastic pollution, including tiny microplastics now found in our food, water, and even our bodies, no single global authority is actually in charge of solving the problem. This study found that the current patchwork of UN agencies, environmental treaties, and industry partnerships mostly shares information and sets voluntary guidelines rather than enforcing real change, and that businesses often use these partnerships to look eco-friendly while continuing normal plastic production. For consumers, this means the burden of reducing plastic exposure and pollution largely falls on individual choices and local regulations, since meaningful global rules aren't yet in place
Abstract As plastic pollution intensifies, questions arise about whether the global plastics crisis (GPC) is being governed, and by whom. While an array of international institutions is often assumed to address this issue, the scholarship has yet to systematically examine who governs plastics and plastic pollution in practice. This article provides an empirical mapping of the GPC governance landscape, finding that multilevel public, civil society, and hybrid institutions incidentally facilitate governance through information dissemination, operational activities, and standard-setting. It identifies focal points that shape the global agenda and powerbrokers that disseminate it, with the United Nations Environment Programme and the Basel Convention emerging as influential. Meanwhile, private actor involvement is limited to multistakeholder partnerships that enable business and industry to feign environmental action while pursuing expansive business-as-usual practices. This article thereby establishes an empirical baseline for understanding GPC governance in the absence of a global plastics treaty, demonstrating that legal and regime-based classifications of institutional relevance offer an incomplete account.
More Papers Like This
Ecological and Health Dimensions of Global Plastics Governance and Its International Institutions
AI summary Read the abstract
Plastic pollution—including tiny microplastics—isn't just an environmental problem, it's a health problem too, but this study finds that the international agreements and organizations meant to tackle plastic waste don't do a great job connecting the dots between the two. In other words, the people negotiating global plastic treaties and the people focused on public health aren't fully coordinating, which means the human health risks of plastic pollution may be getting less attention than they deserve in the rules being written right now. This matters because as global leaders finalize a landmark plastics treaty, closing this gap could mean stronger protections for the food, water, and air you're exposed to every day
Global Plastics Crisis Database of Institutions
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers built a database mapping out all the different organizations, governments, companies, and advocacy groups, involved in trying to manage the world's plastic pollution problem, based on interviews with people who work in this field. This matters because plastic pollution and microplastics are a growing health concern, and understanding who's responsible for regulating them can help identify gaps in oversight that leave consumers exposed to plastic-related risks. Note that this paper doesn't test health effects directly, it's a tool for understanding the "who's who" of plastic policy-making.
A little less conversation: How existing governance can strengthen the future global plastics treaty
AI summary Read the abstract
This analysis examines existing multi-level governance structures for plastics—from global agreements to local regulations—and explores how a new global plastics treaty could complement rather than duplicate these existing frameworks. The authors identify principal roles, shortcomings, and gaps in current governance and propose ways to integrate a new binding instrument with the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions and other relevant regulatory bodies.
One global policy: Finding gaps and solutions to combat microplastic pollution
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reviewed plastic pollution laws in 195 countries and found that while most nations ban single-use plastics, very few laws actually address microplastics, the tiny plastic particles increasingly found in our food, water, and even our bodies. Wealthier countries tend to have stronger, more enforceable rules (like holding manufacturers responsible for plastic waste), while poorer countries often have bans that lack the resources to enforce them, leaving a major gap in global protection against microplastic exposure.
Policy and Regulatory Frameworks for Microplastic Management
AI summary Read the abstract
This review paper looks at how governments worldwide are trying to tackle microplastic pollution—tiny plastic bits that build up in our environment and bodies—through bans on microbeads, single-use plastic restrictions, and new manufacturer accountability rules. The big takeaway: these efforts are still scattered and inconsistent across countries, and scientists still don't have enough data on exactly how microplastics affect our health, which makes it hard to create strong, unified regulations. Bottom line for consumers—stronger global cooperation and better research are needed before we can fully understand and reduce our exposure to these particles.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.