Plastic is a miracle material, shaped and folded into our lives in nearly everything. We can’t get enough of it. In the 1950s the world produced 2 million metric tons of the stuff annually, according to the UN Environment Program. Now the amount has risen to more than 400 million metric tons. If current production stays on track, yearly plastic production could reach 1.1 billion metric tons by 2050. The convenience of plastic comes at a terrible environmental cost. Some of that is visible: In Accra, Ghana, where Bloomberg Green has reported on the plastic crisis, mounds of garbage stand on beaches and clog streams, while in Bangkok, people who live near plants that melt plastic down cite acrid fumes and health problems. But there’s an invisible and damaging toll, too. Plastic adds significantly to the emissions that cause climate change as the world struggles to limit warming to 1.5C. The planet is already 1.2C warmer than it was before industrialization. Plastic was responsible for 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. That’s 3.4% of the global total, more than the percentage of carbon dioxide contributed by the aviation sector. Producing all the many varieties of plastic requires a wide range of chemical additives, but while each product has its own special formula, ultimately they all come from a base of fossil fuels. Across every stage of the life cycle they emit planet-warming pollution. Plastic’s greenhouse gas emissions don’t end once a product is made. More follows upon its disposal, through incineration and off-gassing. We asked three experts what they believe would be the most effective ways to limit plastic’s role in climate change. Read what they told us at the link in our bio or visit: bloomberg.com/green Readers: Are you trying to reduce the plastic you use in your life? Tell us how in the comments below. Read more from our Big Plastic series: bloomberg.com/green-big-plastic