Experts Warn: Sugary Drinks Industry Fuels Climate Crisis and Health Risks
The sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) industry has been identified as a significant contributor to climate change, according to health and environmental experts who are calling for stronger measures to curb the industry’s impact.
Speaking at a webinar organized by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) titled “SSB and Climate Change: Climate Cost of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages,” experts highlighted the dual threat posed by SSBs: their role in increasing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their reliance on single-use plastics (SUPs), which emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) and release toxic pollutants.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, underscored the urgency of the issue, noting that soda companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, are among the top global contributors to plastic pollution.
Public health expert Dr. Francis Fagbule from the University of Ibadan emphasized the health risks associated with SSBs, linking their consumption to NCDs such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. He advocated for an improved SSB tax to reduce consumption and use the proceeds to bolster healthcare services for NCD patients.
Olamide Martins Ogunlade, CAPPA’s Senior Programmes Manager and Head of Climate Change, pointed out the environmental damage caused by SUPs, which constitute 40% of global plastic production, mostly used in food and beverage packaging.
He warned that discarded plastics break down into microplastics, releasing toxic chemicals that contaminate water supplies, food crops, and marine ecosystems, ultimately threatening human and environmental health.
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Experts also highlighted the link between plastics and climate change, noting that GHGs are released throughout the plastic lifecycle, particularly during incineration. Additionally, plastics interfere with the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide, thereby exacerbating global warming and harming biodiversity.
To mitigate these challenges, Ogunlade proposed enforcing Nigeria’s National Policy on Plastic Waste Management, encouraging manufacturers to redesign packaging and adopt alternative materials, and implementing stricter regulations to manage plastic waste. Both public health and environmental advocates stressed the need for immediate action to address the intertwined issues of SSB consumption, plastic pollution, and climate change.
