Reacción a "An experiment assesses the effect of microplastics on atmospheric warming"

The paper highlights the interesting potential of micro- and nanoplastics exerting a warming effect in the atmosphere. However, the uncertainties of this effect are substantial, not only due to the variability of their optical properties, but also due to our limited understanding of their emissions and a lack of measurements to assess model predictions. This means that we need further research before we can confidently discuss the magnitude of the impact of micro- and nanoplastics on atmospheric warming.

If substantiated by further work, micro- and nanoplastics should then be considered short-lived climate forcers like black carbon itself. This means their contribution to global warming could be reduced much more quickly through emission reductions than is the case for changes in emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, for example, which persist in the atmosphere for many, many years. Nevertheless, the benefit would be fast but limited and should not distract from the need to control emissions of the primary greenhouse gases.