Soon, after four years of research, I defend my thesis ‘Transforming a Synthetic World’. So, here comes a 🧵the things I have learned—on fossil fuels, chemicals and plastics, why their internal relationship is important, and what needs to happen. https://t.co/0oH489N3SP

The report is the outcome of a great collaboration with @JPTilsted @KarlHolmberg91 @stripple and Tara Olsen, colleagues at @lunduniversity

We hope this can inspire and support further discussions about how primary plastics production can be reduced to align with global targets for a stable climate and healthy ecosystems

4. The allocation and trade of allowances can facilitate redistribution and compensation between states. However, it is important to learn from past experience of cap-and-trade systems and be aware of potential shortcomings.

3. Different approaches to allocating plastic production allowances vary in terms of their alignment with equity principles for distributive justice, either mitigating or reinforcing existing inequalities.

2. A cap on primary plastic production is possible and has precedent in environmental and climate change law. One approach for implementing such a cap is through a cap-and-trade system, which involves the distribution of production allowances.

1. Limiting the global production of primary plastics is necessary to curb greenhouse gas emissions as well as the environmental and health impacts of plastic pollution.

The report analyses how primary plastic production could be restricted in the plastics treaty through a global cap with distributed production allowances. A few key insights from the report:

Happy to finally share our new report "Limits to Plastic Growth: Towards a global cap on primary plastics production".

🛢What shapes the future of global fossil-based industries?🛢 New paper out in Ecological Economics with @FBauer_LU on the importance of global networks🌐 and accomodation strategies🪀 Open access link: https://t.co/hZ8fa0Ucsv 1/12

Today, @IEA has launched a new online resource tracking global progress on the key energy goals agreed at #COP28 Developed with @UNFCCC, it will be updated regularly with the latest IEA data & analysis, supporting policy makers as they aim to turn climate promises into action ⬇️

Pleased to share this new Synergies article by @DavidKleimann,@KeaneJodie & @MichaiRobertson on: ➡️their assessment of the outcomes of #MC13 on trade & environmental sustainability ➡️possible pathways to address the climate & trade nexus at the @wto ➡️ https://t.co/gTY20MLJIg

See all details and start your submission here:

We welcome all who are interested to submit a proposal for a contribution aligned with one of the three themes for the conference: 1. Global context and impacts 2. Solutions and interventions for a just transition 3. Actors and institutions

We see that this conference could provide a great opportunity for learning across fields of research that are rarely connected, enabling discussion and debate amongst people from a wide range of disciplines and in particular early career researchers and professionals.

This conference will be a meeting place for people from academia and other organisations (such as CSOs) who take an interest in the central role that the petrochemical and plastics industries play in the planetary crises of climate change, global pollution and biodiversity loss.

Call for contributions to the International Conference on Petrochemicals and Climate Change: Technology, Policy and Societal Change in a time of Planetary Crises

OPEC's leaked goal to “proactively reject any [#COP28 ] text that targets fossil fuels, rather than emissions” is, I think, the 1st *explicit* admission of Big Oil's strategy to shift climate responsibility from supply/fossil fuels to demand/emissions. 1/n

Register at the website to receive all updates, including info about the Call for contributions which will be published in January. Please share and spread the word!

Especially we are looking to gather early career researchers and other young professionals at this event, providing generous travel scholarships to enable participation for professionals from CSOs and Global South.