Unlocking Financing to Combat the Plastics Crisis - Opportunities, Risks, and Recommendations for Plastic Credits

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Table of Contents

• Acronyms and abbreviations 8
• Foreward 10
• Acknowledgments 11
• Executive summary 13
• Recommendations 20
• How to read this report 25
• 1. Introduction 27
• 2. How do plastic credits work? 33
• 2.1. Definition of a plastic credit 33
• 2.2 Types of plastic credit 34
• 2.3 How are plastic credits issued and purchased? 35
• 2.4 Key stakeholder groups 36
• 2.5 Plastic Credit Market Governance and Best Practices 37
• Best-practice principles for plastic crediting programs 38
• Best-practice principles for plastic credit purchases 39
• 3. Overview of the plastic credit market 41
• 3.1. State of the current plastic credit market 41
• Existing plastic crediting programs 41
• Geographical distribution of plastic crediting programs 46
• Geographical distribution of plastic credit projects 46
• Types of plastic credits offered by crediting programs 48
• Claims associated with plastic credits 52
• 3.2 Trends in the plastic credit market 53
• Majority of projects in developing countries 53
• Emphasis on the involvement of the informal sector 54
• A dominant voluntary market 54
• Plastic credit prices can vary widely in the absence of a pricing structure 55
• The demand trajectory is uncertain 55
• The role of plastic credits as a mitigation option versus contribution 55
• Plastic crediting is being explored as a regulatory instrument 56
• 3.3 Extended producer responsibility schemes and plastic crediting 56
• The interaction of EPR and plastic crediting 57
• How can plastic crediting be used within EPR schemes? 59
• Case studies – EPR schemes and crediting mechanisms 61
• Case Study 1: A crediting mechanism to increase recycling in the UK 61
• Case Study 2: EPR crediting as a tool for compliance in India 62
• Key considerations for plastic crediting as a regulatory instrument 62
• 3.4 Benefits, risks, and challenges 65
• Benefits of plastic crediting 65
• Key benefits 65
• Risks and challenges of plastic crediting 70
• Challenges and risks 71
• 4. Recommendations 77
• 4.1 General recommendations for plastic crediting 77
• 4.2 Proposed actions 87
• References 91
• Annex I 97
• Key components of a crediting standard 97
• Annex II 99
• Incentivizing private sector investment through the pilot auction facility 99
• Annex III 100
• The Paris Agreement and Article 6 100
• Annex IV 101
• Methodological considerations for upstream plastic credits 101
• Annex V 104
• Landscape of plastic crediting in Southeast Asian countries 104
• Deep dive on plastic crediting in the Philippines 106
• Table 1: Plastic credit projects under category 1 programs by year 17
• Table 4: Plastic crediting program categories 43
• Table 5: Credit types across plastic crediting programs 49
• Table 6: Summary of claims and associated results 52
• Table 7: Developing national crediting standards versus adopting existing standards 59
• Table 8: Examples Sustainable Development Goal attributes from plastic pollution reduction 69
• Table 9: Summary of recommended actions for key stakeholders 89
• Table 10: Examples of upstream plastic project activities 103
• Table 11: Overview of plastic credit projects and EPR in ASEAN nations 105
• Figure 1: Distribution of Registered and Listed Plastic Credit Projects by Programs and Regions 16
• Figure 2: Key stakeholders involved in plastic credit process 37
• Figure 3: Best practices for certification programs to ensure impact 38
• Figure 4: Key principles for plastic credits 39
• Figure 5: Distribution of registered and listed plastic credit projects across programs and regions 47
• Figure 6: Distribution of plastic credit projects with verified or issued credits across programs and regions 48
• Figure 7: Overview of extended producer responsibility schemes with / without a crediting mechanism 57
• Figure 8: Overview of possible interactions between EPR and plastic crediting 58
• Box 1: Financing Waste Collection and Recycling in Thailand through Waste Credits 36
• Box 2: Plastic credits for upstream activities 50
• Box 3: Moving toward standardization for plastic crediting: The relevance of the INC process for plastic crediting 78
• Box 4: Enabling action through a Plastic Waste Reduction-Linked Bond 84