A low-carbon chemical industry ‘could create 29m jobs and double turnover’
Adopting more efficient and low-carbon technology could create 29m new jobs and double the turnover of the chemicals industry, one of the world’s biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, according to a new report.
Failure to do so could condemn the world to climate chaos, however, as the climbing emissions from the manufacture of chemicals could result in a global temperature rise of as much as 4C above pre-industrial levels, which would bring catastrophe.
Chemicals manufacturing accounts for about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions – roughly equal to the output of Russia, the world’s fourth largest emitting country – and the products are used in a myriad of other industries, from farming to automotive to consumer goods.
It would be all but impossible for the world to stay within the limit of a 1.5C temperature rise, which scientists say is vital and which nations agreed to aim for last year at the Cop26 UN climate summit, without sharp reductions in emissions from the chemicals industry.
By adopting techniques already available, such as recycling plastic and using fertiliser in a more targeted way, and investing in emerging technologies such as hydrogen, the industry could reduce its emissions rapidly. By 2050, it could be a net absorber of carbon dioxide instead of an emitter, according to a report published on Tuesday by Systemiq, a company that advises on sustainability, and the Centre for Global Commons at the University of Tokyo.
Paul Polman, former chief executive of Unilever and founder of Systemiq Capital, a venture capital firm related to Systemiq, said the chemicals industry was coming under increasing scrutiny as companies across the world sought to reduce their carbon footprint. Chemicals companies are usually
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