In our work, we face the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans and related environmental, biological and human health hazards, also in connection with global food scarcity, Climate Change and feeding sustainability. Several studies proved how plastics, once they end in the oceans, break up into small particulates entering the food chain and attracting toxins. These toxins, stored in seafood, are eventually consumed by humans. Moreover, we know that the food reserve in the oceans is now less than 1/2 of one we had in the past century. Specifically, our integrated risk management approach considers, on one hand, small innovative producers of bioplastic and, on the other hand, global highly polluting plastic producers. We propose possible asymmetric economic agreements among those complementary plastic producers, in order to develop a global sustainable bioplastic production, characterized by very low impact on the oceans and, consequently, on the planet and human health. Furthermore, the hidden contribution of plastic production to climate change - remark the authors of the report by the Center for International Environmental Law - is now well estimated, with its “greenhouse gas footprint from the cradle to the grave”. Moreover, while plastic pollution in the oceans has become a high-profile concern, the effect on climate change of the ubiquitous use of plastic hasn’t received the same attention. Now, EMSO ERIC, a pan-European Research Infrastructure – engaged in the multidisciplinary observation of the deep ocean, focusing on the understanding of environmental changes, to face the environmental challenges of Marine Ecosystems and Climate Change - could help to conduct an integrated analysis of both the Climate Change and marine ecosystems catastrophic hazards coming from plastic pollution. By using coopetitive games, we show how complementary producers could conjugate human health, environmental defense, oceanic biospheres protection and economic interests, with lower government spending: issues apparently enemies of each other. Our coopetitive approach proposes an easier entry in the global market of small bioplastic innovative startups. Meanwhile, the model could allow big producers of highly polluting plastics a smooth and rapid transaction to more sustainable productions. In particular, we propose an exemplary agreement among those actors. Besides, our model implies a general saving for the countries, by mitigating the health expenditure and Climate Change uncontrollable costs. The result of our mathematical study suggests win-win solutions for producers, oceans and governments, while improving human population feed sustainability and mitigating climate change.

Plastic Ocean and Climate Change: a coopetitive integrated risk management approach

David Carfì
;
Alessia Donato;
2019-01-01

Abstract

In our work, we face the problem of plastic pollution in the oceans and related environmental, biological and human health hazards, also in connection with global food scarcity, Climate Change and feeding sustainability. Several studies proved how plastics, once they end in the oceans, break up into small particulates entering the food chain and attracting toxins. These toxins, stored in seafood, are eventually consumed by humans. Moreover, we know that the food reserve in the oceans is now less than 1/2 of one we had in the past century. Specifically, our integrated risk management approach considers, on one hand, small innovative producers of bioplastic and, on the other hand, global highly polluting plastic producers. We propose possible asymmetric economic agreements among those complementary plastic producers, in order to develop a global sustainable bioplastic production, characterized by very low impact on the oceans and, consequently, on the planet and human health. Furthermore, the hidden contribution of plastic production to climate change - remark the authors of the report by the Center for International Environmental Law - is now well estimated, with its “greenhouse gas footprint from the cradle to the grave”. Moreover, while plastic pollution in the oceans has become a high-profile concern, the effect on climate change of the ubiquitous use of plastic hasn’t received the same attention. Now, EMSO ERIC, a pan-European Research Infrastructure – engaged in the multidisciplinary observation of the deep ocean, focusing on the understanding of environmental changes, to face the environmental challenges of Marine Ecosystems and Climate Change - could help to conduct an integrated analysis of both the Climate Change and marine ecosystems catastrophic hazards coming from plastic pollution. By using coopetitive games, we show how complementary producers could conjugate human health, environmental defense, oceanic biospheres protection and economic interests, with lower government spending: issues apparently enemies of each other. Our coopetitive approach proposes an easier entry in the global market of small bioplastic innovative startups. Meanwhile, the model could allow big producers of highly polluting plastics a smooth and rapid transaction to more sustainable productions. In particular, we propose an exemplary agreement among those actors. Besides, our model implies a general saving for the countries, by mitigating the health expenditure and Climate Change uncontrollable costs. The result of our mathematical study suggests win-win solutions for producers, oceans and governments, while improving human population feed sustainability and mitigating climate change.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11570/3145423
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