Inequities from the Embedded Plastic Flow and Carbon Footprint Transfers in International Trade

Amid the ongoing discussions on the plastic treaty, global plastic consumption and transparency through the supply chain remain key topics. Here, we established a global embedded plastic flow model to investigate cross-industry and -region flows of embedded plastic exports and quantify the associated transfer of embodied carbon emissions. We found that in 2022, China exported 60.02 million tons (Mt) of embedded plastic, with manufacturing (43.1%) and textiles (38.4%) being the dominant sectors. The USA was the largest importing country, accounting for 24.4% and 17.0% of these two sectors' export, respectively. Embedded plastic drove a substantial shift in global carbon emissions through international trade, in which China induced 198.78 Mt of carbon emissions in 2022 through export of plastic-embedded products. Embedded plastic consumption was further strongly linked to socio-economic factors, like gross domestic product, gross national income, and household consumption, underscoring the need for an equitable sharing of responsibility in tackling plastic pollution rather than holding only the producer accountable.