A new study in the medical journal The Lancet estimates that global plastic pollution is responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually. Researchers found the principal driver of the growing public health crisis is a huge increase in global plastic production, from 2 million tons in 1950 to a projected 1.2 billion tons by 2060. The report’s authors write, “Plastics are a grave, growing, and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health.”

The findings come as a conference of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Global Plastics Treaty opens in Geneva today. Greenpeace activists rallied ahead of the talks.

Graham Forbes: “Our demands are for a treaty that takes a full life cycle approach, cuts plastic production, bans toxic chemicals and provides the financing that’s going to be required to make this transition.”