Global Scans · Pollution · Weekly Summary

• [New] Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel use will reach a record high in 2025 despite countries' pledges to begin lowering their climate pollution. Insurance Journal
• [New] At the current rate, global plastic pollution is estimated to triple by 2040. Phenomenal World
• [New] Announcing a new collective goal today, the accelerator member cities will pledge to save over 450,000 lives from air pollution across their cities by 2040, gaining 5.4 million years of life, and save $840 billion by reducing air pollution to meet their air quality targets. C40 Cities
• [New] The WHO urges the phase-out of fossil fuels, which are major contributors to both climate change and air pollution (a major health hazard). Risk Prevention Mitigation and Management Forum
• [New] The global plastics treaty, a United Nations initiative aiming to reduce plastic pollution worldwide, could commit countries to legally binding limits on virgin plastic production and enforce stronger requirements for reuse and refill systems. The Conversation
• [New] In the UK, air pollution remains the single biggest environmental threat to health. The Conversation
• [New] Pinatubo disrupted the Indian monsoon system, leading to decreased rainfall across South Asia, and caused warming in the stratosphere and depletion of the ozone layer, SAI could cause acid rain and soil pollution. New Atlas
• [New] While plastics pollution threatens every square inch of the planet, it is the oceans that have become ground zero for the fight against disposability. Phenomenal World
• [New] Continuing to warm the planet by wrapping it in a blanket of heat-trapping pollution is disrupting the natural water cycle, leading to longer dry periods and threatening malnutrition, thirst, medical problems, and mass displacement. Yahoo News
• [New] Take air pollution: fine particles are still the biggest environmental health threat in Europe, causing around 300,000 premature deaths every year. Euronews
• [New] The burning of fossil fuels poses cradle-to-grave risks to human health, including an estimated 8.34 million excess deaths worldwide every year from fine particulate and ozone pollution alone. The Equation
• [New] Urban aerosol pollution is evolving rapidly with global change and poses significant risks to public health. Nature
• [New] Plastic pollution already poses significant business risks, with corporate liabilities projected to exceed USD 20 billion by 2030. Sustainable Packaging News
• [New] India adds nearly 10 million new urban residents each year, heightening risks from heatwaves, pollution, and floods. Drishti IAS
• [New] The deaths from pollution caused by Europe's biggest plastic plant, which is being built in Antwerp, will outstrip the number of permanent jobs it will create. The Guardian
• [New] Sustainable construction can help mitigate risks and also reduce heat-trapping air pollution, which contributes to Earth's rising temperatures and leads to more severe natural disasters. Yahoo News
• [New] Global trends like biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution and the rise in invasive species are putting humans, plants and animals at higher risk of contracting infectious diseases. Conservation International
• [New] Australian PHEV users not regularly recharging could add millions of tonnes of planet-heating pollution by 2050, exclusive modelling shows. Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Last updated: 17 November 2025