Plastic pollution and climate change related to fossil fuel emissions are two of humanity's biggest global challenges. And while the two are not interchangeable, scientists agree that they are connected. Anja Brandon studies plastic pollution and policies aimed to lower it in the United States for the Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group."Ninety-nine percent of our plastics are made from fossil fuels. So we can really think of plastics as just oil in another form," Brandon said. And on its own, plastic pollution is everywhere. Trace plastic particles known as microplastics have been found in deep-water ocean environments as well as the mountains of national parks. Those particles can end up in water supplies, food chains and eventually our bodies leading to potential health hazards.Related Video Below | Our world is full of microplastics. California is leading efforts to change thatThis week, nonprofit research group the Minderoo Foundation released its Plastic Waste Makers Index report. The report shows that global plastic pollution levels are at an all-time high. In 2021 alone, 139 million metric tons of plastic trash could be traced on land and in the water. That is an increase of 6 million metric tons since 2019, the last time the Plastic Waste Makers Index was published. The Index points to oil and gas company ExxonMobile as the planet's largest contributor to global plastic pollution amounts, producing close to 6 million metric tons in 2021."Pollution is rising because production is rising, especially single-use plastics,” Brandon said. Half of the plastic pollution on Earth right now was produced in the last 20 years, Brandon said, highlighting how important the next 20 years are. Lawmakers in California have taken trailblazing steps to help reduce single-use plastics during that time frame. That includes Senate Bill 54, which would require a 25% reduction in plastics being sold into the state by the year 2032 along with a requirement that 100% of any remaining incoming plastics plastics be recyclable."We know where California goes, the world will follow. However, we know that California also can’t do this on its own. So this report confirms that we need other states and countries to step up and make the changes that California has,” Brandon said.The Ocean Conservancy estimates that if California were to meet those pollution reduction goals, up to 21 million metric tons of plastic waste can be kept out of the environment in the next decade.More Like This | Filmmaker, diver team up to clean up microplastic in Lake TahoeBrandon added that this bill also takes pressure off the consumer when it comes to shouldering efforts to reduce plastic and fossil fuel usage.“The changes that we need to make, the changes that are the most impactful really aren’t on us as the consumer," Brandon said. "They need to be made by the producers of these plastics.”And in that regard, Brandon and many other scientists are optimistic.“We have an opportunity to turn this around, and California is actually leading the charge," Brandon said.