Multibillion-dollar Louisiana plastics plant put on pause in a win for activists

According to environmentalists, the $9.4bn facility could release up to 13m tonnes of greenhouse gases a year

The US government has placed further delays on a proposed multibillion dollar plastics plant in south Louisiana, marking a major victory for environmental activists and members of the majority Black community who have campaigned for years against construction.

The planned $9.4bn petrochemical facility, owned by Formosa Plastics, would roughly double toxic emissions in its local area and, according to environmentalists, release up to 13m tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, the equivalent of three coal-fired power plants, to become one of the largest plastics pollution-causing facilities in the world.