Plastic pollution is a global phenomenon with significant impacts on the marine and coastal environment. The physical properties and uncertainties associated with marine plastic, combined with the transboundary nature of the problem and a lack of international markets for control (such as a cap and trade scheme) has led to a lack of effective global actions to address the challenge of marine plastic. This lack of coordination and effective control persists despite increasing worldwide recognition of the problem. Recognizing this critical and unresolved problem, the fundamental aim of the proposed research is to bring new insights to bear on the economic damages associated with marine plastic, the costs of reducing this pollution problem, the net benefits of international coordination over reductions in marine plastic, and the conditions under which mutually beneficial coordination can occur.

This project is funded by the ESRC and NERC.