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CIEL 2022 Annual Report

CIEL Annual Report 2022

Defending the Right to a Healthy Planet

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Exposing a Toxic Triad: Fossil Fuels, Plastics, and Agricultural Chemicals

Just a few short years ago, the links between plastics and fossil fuels were largely hidden from the public. By exposing those links — that plastics are fossil fuels in another form — CIEL has helped to connect, equip, and mobilize the fossil fuel and plastic movements to confront the rising threat of new plastic production for communities in the United States and around the world.

© John Nakata – stock.adobe.com

The convergence of these movements is bringing greater attention and resources to frontline communities organizing to stop the plastics crisis and helping climate advocates prevent plastics from further entrenching our dependence on the fossil fuel economy. But the industry is opening still other routes to keep humanity dependent on oil and gas long into the future. Just like plastics, agricultural chemicals are fossil fuels in another form, and the fossil fuel and agrochemical industries are actively exploiting that fact to lock in new and dangerous fossil infrastructure. The intersection of plastics, agrochemicals, and the fossil fuels used to make them forms a toxic triad that represents a new frontier in our efforts to uproot the fossil economy.

© Jim Bowen / CC BY 2.0

CIEL is working to expose the intersection of fossil fuels, plastics, and toxic chemicals, and their dangerous consequences for human health and the environment. In a new report, Sowing a Plastic Planet, CIEL exposed a troubling but little known manifestation of this toxic triad: the deliberate addition of microplastics to coat synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for “controlled release” in industrial agriculture, a critical but completely avoidable source of pollution of our soils. Agrochemicals and microplastics pose numerous threats in their own right, but the use of both in tandem compounds the health and environmental hazards posed by each. This work presents a vital new angle to leverage as we work to protect people and the planet from the human and environmental impacts of the fossil fuel economy.


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Since 1989, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) has used the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and ensure a just and sustainable society.

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  • President’s Letter
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    • Plastics Treaty Mandate
    • Right to a Healthy Environment
    • Stopping Oil & Gas Expansion
    • Indigenous Consent in Panama
    • Protecting Peru’s Forests
    • Exposing a Toxic Triad
    • Achieving Real Zero
    • Climate Accountability in the Philippines
    • Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
    • Key Project Update Summaries
    • Mapping CIEL’s Global Impact
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