The fossil fuel industry must have been nervous about this COP, since it brought a delegation larger than any single countries. But it also has a backup plan, just in case, parties get serious about cutting back on fossil fuels: plastic. While transportation fuel demand is flat, plastic production is growing at 4% per year; with ExxonMobil and others investing billions in new and expanded facilities to produce ever-increasing quantities of plastic. Oil and gas provide both the feedstock and the energy source for plastic production, giving it an enormous carbon footprint. If plastic were a country, it would rank 5th in GHG emissions, right between Russia and Indonesia. While parties rightly focus on reducing fossil fuel consumption and deforestation, they’re letting increased plastic production slip under the radar. An analysis of 99 revised NDCs by GAIA, found only 11 that entertained any measures to restrict plastic. Meanwhile, the plastics industry is selling pipedreams of “carbon neutral plastic” through a mix of offsetting, greenwashing, and technologies that don’t even exist. Plastic is carbon, after all, and needs to be zeroed out along with the rest of fossil fuels.