The world is slowly transitioning to renewable energy, leading oil and gas
companies to focus on new markets for fossil fuels. According to an
International Energy Agency
report,
petrochemicals — which convert oil and gas into many everyday products,
including
plastics
— are on track to drive nearly half of oil demand by mid-century. The
petrochemical industry is seeing unprecedented investment and buildout, often
occurring in some of the most vulnerable communities on the planet.
“The expansion of the petrochemical industry is negatively impacting the globe
as the industry pushes consumer reliance on plastic, worsening the climate
crisis,'' said Niven Reddy, a regional coordinator and spokesperson with
Break Free from Plastic. “These
facilities disproportionately affect frontline communities.”
On January 27, Break Free from Plastic launched a platform for these frontline communities to share their stories about how petrochemical expansion has affected their regions.
Toxic Tours provides multimedia storytelling and
a platform for these community voices (most often communities of color) to
detail the impacts of the fossil fuel and plastics industries in their
backyards. Toxic Tours will also act as a living platform, working with
communities to add cities and expand reporting to capture real-time events and
impacts of plastic pollution — the upstream effects (extraction, production), as
well as the downstream effects of the plastic life cycle (incineration, waste
exports, landfills, etc).
“These communities are raising their voices and fighting back for their human
right to access clean air, water and soil,” Reddy said.
Odimodi, Nigeria | Image credit: Toxic Tours
Toxic Tours gives access to the hardest-hit frontline communities in the world,
from India to Ohio. The project was designed to capture the unique
perspectives and voices of each community's story. It is decentralized and
non-colonial, by design. There is no voiceover or commentary. The footage and
materials presented by local advocates speaks for themselves.
“Every time a video is pinned, the community is reclaiming the narrative of that
space,” said Break Free from Plastic’s Estelle Eonnet.
Every location has a topline and tagline providing a snapshot of what's going on
in each area. Other features — including maps — show petrochemical buildout,
indicating exactly where on the map videos were shot. After viewing each
location, viewers can choose to view another location, or take actions designed
to make local and global impact.
Toxic Tours
Streamed in multiple languages, the tour began in India.
Swathi Seshadri, a regional leader with the Centre for Financial
Accountability, provided an overview of current and
planned petrochemical expansion underway in the country.
The plastics value chain alone represents a fifth of all of India's emissions,
Seshadri explained. The country’s coastline bristles with petrochemical
infrastructure representing an investment of $17.1 billion, with an additional
investment of $87.4 billion being considered for future expansion. The rapid
petrochemical sprawl has contaminated tens of thousands of hectares and impacted
the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. Untreated wastewater is
routinely dumped into estuaries and the ocean, resulting in a significant
decline in fish numbers and biodiversity; cattle have been reported dead after
drinking runoff. Few regulations and lack of enforcement allow plants to operate
and pollute with impunity, Seshadri said.
Diego Mayen with the East Yard Communities for Environmental
Justice shared the effects of fossil fuel infrastructure in
his community of West Long Beach, California.
Mayen’s community faces particulate pollution from incinerators and oil
refineries. One of the nation’s largest shipping ports spews 24/7 exhaust from
diesel trucks and trains, and spent bunker fuel from massive cargo ships; and
the traffic prevents pedestrian mobility in neighborhoods. Mayen and his loved
ones face regular health impacts connected to petrochemical
pollution,
from asthma to headaches to nosebleeds. Research shows that West Long Beach
citizens live five years
less
compared to those living in other parts of the city.
“I don't think it's fair for our community to have to wonder if it's safe to go
outside,” he said.
The petrochemical industry highlights deeper issues of environmental
racism.
The massive infrastructure and associated disturbances disproportionately
affect
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities.
“Why is it OK that BIPOC communities have these facilities right behind their
homes?” Mayen asked. “We want a just transition away from the fossil fuel
industry.”
Southwest Pennsylvania, US | Image credit: Toxic Tours
The last stop on the Toxic Tours launch event was Nigeria — where several
oil spills have decimated the river delta of a coastal region, severely
impacting the fishing-based economy.
“When our people die, they are buried in polluted soil,” said Ubrei-Joe
Maimoni, a spokesperson with Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the
Earth Nigeria.
The story continues
Jane Patton, Plastics & Petrochemicals Campaign Manager at the Center for
International Environmental Law, shared details of a
new global plastics
treaty
which could protect frontline communities from plastics-related externalities.
The treaty proposes a switch from waste-focused, voluntary plastics-pollution
reductions to a new legally binding approach addressing the full lifecycle of
plastics. The Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly will
convene to discuss a new plastics
treaty later this month in Nairobi, Kenya.
If the treaty succeeds, signatories will be legally bound to consider the full
lifecycle of
plastics,
not just waste management. Patton's organization is
advocating for a treaty that will enable a
systems-wide
commitment
to reducing plastics in the environment, limiting production of new plastics,
and reduction in emissions and other externalities.
“Their fight is our fight,” said Delphine Lévi Alvarès, European Coordinator
at Break Free from Plastics. “If we're fighting plastic pollution, we need to
fight alongside those communities that are primarily in the frontline where
plastic production and plastic pollution starts. The Toxic Tours project is
bringing these stories to everyone across the globe … Hearing from the
frontlines directly is the only way to truly comprehend the extent to which
plastics pollution affects communities all around the world.”
Toxic Tours is designed to be shared with community groups, politicians,
journalists and more, but Alvarès stressed the need to include local
environmental justice groups in bringing Toxic Tours to their communities — and
encouraged frontline communities to add their own journeys to Toxic Tours.
Click here to take action, including
adding a toxic tour to the platform and connecting with grassroots organizations
featured on Toxic Tours.
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Christian is a writer, photographer, filmmaker, and outdoor junkie obsessed with the intersectionality between people and planet. He partners with brands and organizations with social and environmental impact at their core, assisting them in telling stories that change the world.
Published Feb 7, 2022 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET