The first wave of legal cases on plastics have now been launched. ClientEarth predicts that these will evolve rapidly as public and government concern around the impact of plastics continues to grow. This series of four briefs from ClientEarth explores the developments in plastic-related legal action targeting companies.

Just like climate change-related risks, this study shows that plastic pollution risks can affect insurance and investment portfolios in the form of physical, transition, liability and reputational risks. Risks ranging from threats to human health to evolving liability claims connected to marine litter and plastic pollution should be actively addressed by insurers.