20 Years of Microplastics Research: Time to Act
Science has provided more than enough evidence to develop a collective and global approach to tackle the proliferation of plastic pollution. This is the conclusion of an international research team including environmental psychologist Sabine Pahl from the University of Vienna. The current Science publication particularly emphasises the urgency of a global agreement to curb plastic pollution.
wonderisland - stock.adobe.com
The current article was written on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the first study on microplastics, which was also published in the journal Science and coined the term ‘microplastics’ to describe the microscopically small plastic fragments in our oceans. Both studies were led by the ‘Godfather of Microplastic’, Richard Thompson, head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit at the University of Plymouth. International experts from the UK, Switzerland, Australia and the Netherlands also contributed to the study.
Microgen - stock.adobe.com
Scientists of all disciplines have become more interested in Microplastics over the years.
Austrian participation through Sabine Pahl
As the only scientist from the DACH region and an expert in environmental psychology, Sabine Pahl from the University of Vienna analysed the social and psychological dimension of plastic pollution in the new study. ‘The plastic pollution of our planet is entirely caused by human behaviour. We therefore need to investigate how people perceive the risks and benefits of plastic and which factors influence their support for action and change. In doing so, we should include social science perspectives,’ says Pahl, who is also co-director of the ECH, the Environment and Climate Research Network, at the University of Vienna. Furthermore, plastic pollution is not exclusively an environmental issue, but ‘a profound social challenge that can only be solved through interdisciplinary, international cooperation’.
Patrizia Gapp
Microplastics are everywhere
According to estimates, microplastic pollution could rise to 40 megatonnes per year by 2040 if no decisive action is taken. Since the first study was published in 2004, an estimated 7,000 research studies have been conducted on microplastics, providing considerable insight into their sources and impacts, as well as potential solutions. Microplastics have been found in every corner of our planet, in more than 1,300 aquatic and terrestrial animal species, in the food and drink we consume, and in numerous tissues and organs of the human body. Microplastic pollution could rise to 40 megatonnes per year by 2040, according to forecasts, if no decisive action is taken.
Susanne Fritzsche - stock.adobe.com
Time to act
The authors of the study emphasise that we need to go beyond existing national measures to tackle the problem. According to the researchers, the upcoming United Nations negotiations on a global treaty on plastic pollution in South Korea in November 2024 offer a ‘tangible and historic opportunity’ for joint international action. These negotiations, which were launched as part of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2022, could be the first international treaty to regulate the entire life cycle of plastics – from production and consumption to disposal and recycling. However, for such a treaty to be effective, it would have to commit to an overall reduction in plastic production while taking measures to reduce the emission and release of microplastic particles along the entire life cycle of plastic. Otherwise, the researchers add, there could be ‘a high risk of irreversible environmental damage’.
About the researcher
-
Sabine Pahl
Sabine Pahl is a Social Psychologist engaged in basic and applied research and her applied work focuses on the human dimension in environmental issues as well as Co-Director of the ECH. She investigates perceptions and behaviour change, particularly in the area of protecting marine environments, marine litter and microplastics and energy efficiency. At the international level, she has contributed to two microplastics reports with the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Pollution (GESAMP WG40), and has led the UNEP-funded global stocktake of actions against plastic pollution in 2020. She was co-chair of an interdisciplinary working group that reported to the EU Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (SAPEA, 2019) and has contributed to a G7 working group in October 2019 and a WHO working group in March 2020.
derknopfdruecker.com