PR97756

LONDON, September 13, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

- Ground-breaking study sets out credible pathways for the industry to become

an enabler of a sustainable global economy, double in size and create 29

million new jobs

- The industry can reinvent itself as a climate solution - becoming carbon

negative by early 2040s and acting as a carbon sink by 2050

- Without dramatic and urgent change, the industry aligns with 4 degrees of

global warming by 2050 with catastrophic consequences for the planet

- Building a circular, net zero chemical system will require capital

expenditure of over $3 trillion by 2050

The global chemical industry accounts for around 4% of global greenhouse gas

emissions. It must end its fossil dependency and become a planet-positive force

by embracing a more circular, low emissions operating model, according to a

major new report [https://www.systemiq.earth/planet-positive-chemicals] from

Systemiq [https://www.systemiq.earth/], the system change company, and the

Center for Global Commons [https://cgc.ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/] at the University

of Tokyo. Without urgent action, the industry faces reputational and regulatory

risk and may lose its social license to operate, the report warns.

The Planet Positive Chemicals report (Systemiq

[https://www.systemiq.earth/planet-positive-chemicals], UTokyo

[https://cgc.ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/research-en/chemistry-industry-en/]) provides

an unprecedented blueprint for the future of the chemical industry, which is

worth $4.7 trillion dollars in annual revenues(1) and provides the chemicals

that are essential to all sectors of the economy from packaging and consumer

goods to construction and fertilisers. It says the industry currently has

multiple harmful impacts on our planet, including high carbon emissions and

pollution, and its action on climate is currently lagging behind other sectors.

The report identifies the need for radical interventions on both supply and

demand sides for the industry to operate within planetary boundaries

[https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html]. Its

findings include:

- Chemical products are used across all downstream industries - other sectors

of the economy cannot reach net zero without mitigating the climate impacts of

the chemicals value chain

- Chemical production would need to double by 2050 to enable a sustainable

global economy, with rapid growth in ammonia (around 440%) mainly for use as a

sustainable shipping fuel and methanol (330%) to create plastic without using

fossil sources

- Expected growth means net zero will be dependent on the maximum scaling of a

few key abatement technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) - without

which the chemicals industry becomes a major climate risk

- Up to 640 million tonnes of CCS capacity will be needed every year by 2050 if

the industry does not move away from fossil feedstocks  

- Circular approaches can reduce total demand for chemicals by up to 31% by

2050 - with industry reusing and recycling chemicals, or switching certain

chemicals for lower-emissions alternatives

- Supply transition requires a shift away from fossil fuels and feedstocks and

scaling of CCS to capture residual emission from production processes and end

of life chemicals

- Replacing fossil feedstocks will make the industry the largest global

consumer of green hydrogen (up to half of all demand by 2050), driving scale-up

of this critical enabler of the energy transition

- This creates economic opportunities as the site of primary chemical

production for developing countries that have abundant, affordable renewable

energy sources to make low-cost green hydrogen

- The industry could become carbon negative by the early 2040s and a carbon

sink by 2050, using CO2 from the air and biomass to make plastic and storing

carbon underground at end-of-life

- The transition can create 29 million jobs in upstream production, circular

chemicals and waste management - but the chemical industry needs to reposition

itself in order to attract highly-skilled workers who often seek environmental

and social purpose

- Retrofitting of legacy production and new greenfield chemical production

infrastructure will require capex expenditure of over $3 trillion

The Planet-Positive Chemicals report aims to help the industry and policy

makers unite around a common view of the path ahead and accelerate the

transition to a sustainable model of operation. It suggests ten key actions

[https://www.systemiq.earth/planet-positive-chemicals] that could transform the

system including establishing a global charter of transition principles and a

first-movers coalition to seed markets for net zero chemicals. The report

authors have made all their modelling and analysis publicly available. They

will host a virtual discussion

[https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/systemiq-center-for-global-commons-planet-positi

ve-chemicals-discussion-tickets-412873484707] on 10 October 2022 to explore

what's needed from the industry, its customers, policymakers and the investment

community to make the transition happen.

Chad Holliday, former CEO of the global chemical company DuPont and former

Chairman of Shell, said: "We need realistic and immediate action from industry

on the climate goals agreed at an international level. We want to see ambitious

companies grabbing the opportunities represented by the global net zero

transition, and as the former CEO of a chemicals company, I firmly believe a

planet positive chemicals industry IS possible and this is a pivotal moment for

the industry to redefine its future."

Naoko Ishii, Executive Vice President, Director for the Center for Global

Commons at the University of Tokyo, said: "To avoid the collapse of the complex

and interdependent Earth systems on which humanity, including our economic

prosperity depends, we need to transform our social and economic systems and

our lifestyles. The chemical industry has an outsized role to play, with its

products used across many sectors and ubiquitous in modern life. The

opportunity is clear: to bring the system back within the planetary boundaries,

including net zero GHG and become a contributor to the Global Commons. We hope

this report will open the debate about how the chemical industry can transform

itself to grasp that opportunity."

Business leader and campaigner Paul Polman, who served as CEO of Unilever and

helped design the SDGs, said: "Transformational leadership is critical to the

delivery of our global sustainability goals. We urgently need courageous

business leaders who profit by fixing the world's problems rather than creating

them - and this report is a clarion call to the chemical industry to do just

that. It sets out tangible pathways for the sector to become the enabler of a

sustainable economy, a climate solution and a planet-positive system - but in

order to access the growth and value associated with this future path, the

industry must decouple itself from the fossil fuel dependence of the past. This

marks the beginning of an urgent and business-critical conversation for the

industry and its value chain."

Guido Schmidt-Traub, Managing Partner of Systemiq, says: "The chemical industry

underpins every modern economy, but it must change profoundly across its entire

value chain to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Importantly, these

changes are eminently feasible using proven technologies outlined in this

report. The recommendations for policymakers, the industry, and the investment

community are practical and actionable. Systemiq and our partners stand ready

to support discussions about how the chemical industry can become a driver of a

net-zero and nature-positive economy."    

NOTES TO EDITORS

(1.)

https://www.statista.com/statistics/302081/revenue-of-global-chemical-industry/

The full report is available at

https://www.systemiq.earth/planet-positive-chemicals/ or at

https://cgc.ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/research-en/chemistry-industry-en/

You can sign up for the Planet Positive Chemicals discussion event at

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/systemiq-center-for-global-commons-planet-positive-chemicals-discussion-tickets-412873484707

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1895566/Report_cover.jpg

Source: Systemiq