As the world is combating climate crisis and reducing the usage of fossil fuels, the oil industry and its major players are finding themselves in trouble. Fossil fuels and the plastic industry are significantly connected, as 99% of the plastics around the world are prepared from the chemicals, coming from fossil fuels. The problem is that the world is already filled with huge volumes of plastics and very few countries are ready to give a dumping ground for the plastic wastes.

What’s the solution? Oil companies are now looking at Africa to solve both issues.


Oil Industry in Trouble

The oil industry is looking at declining profit figures as the world is reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. Moreover, alternative sources of energy like wind and solar energy has become affordable and efficient. The governments are also taking steps to reduce the usage of fossil fuels and combat the climate crisis.

In the last few years, the oil giants have already invested more than 200 billion USD in chemical and plastic manufacturing plants across the US. The United States alone consumes 15 times more plastic than any underdeveloped nation. Last year, 1 billion pounds of plastic waste was exported by the US to various developing and underdeveloped nations, Kenya being one of them. Even China has closed its doors for dumping plastics.

Will the oil companies able to recover their numbers like the North American economy has seen in recent times? The world is focusing on Africa for the answer.


Talks with Kenya

Currently, the United States is in talks with Kenya to relax its laws on plastic and chemical imports. Kenya is one of the biggest economies in Africa and can be an excellent dumping ground for plastics and chemicals. The story does not end here, oil companies plan to use Kenya as a hub or a central location from where they can explore other African economies.

The Kenyan president said that he was willing to come into a trade agreement with America. But what concerns the environmentalists is the constant lobbying from the oil and fossil fuel companies. Kenya has fought well against plastic dumping and last year it signed a global agreement to stop important plastic and chemical wastes.


Tough Laws in Kenya

Kenya has one of the most stringent laws against plastic and its usage. The country enacted a plastic ban law in 2017 and anyone breaking the rules could serve jail time. Kenya is not the only nation working on the plastic ban, as many as 127 countries (according to the UN) have tough policies to eliminate or reduce plastic waste.

The oil industry giants like Chevron and Exxon Mobil had pledged more than 1.5 billion USD to combat plastic pollution. That’s the surface story. Critics say that this amount is nothing as compared to the investments they made in manufacturing plants and the profits they chime out of plastic and chemicals.


Conclusion

The oil companies are now pushing hard and trying to find new dumping grounds for plastic waste. If the agreement between the USA and Kenya relaxes the plastic laws in Kenya, then it can be a huge concern for the locals and the ones voicing to reduce pollution and climate crisis.