Two new reports are outlining how the global chemicals industry — which historically has been one of the most difficult to decarbonize — can slash emissions.
The road maps come as the Biden administration is funneling money to low-carbon projects in the chemicals sector.
The first report released by the World Wildlife Fund outlines a plan backed by city governments and companies identifying five options to decarbonize the global industry, including using “clean” hydrogen and electric equipment to power factories. The second blueprint, touted this summer from the world’s oldest scientific academy — the U.K.’s Royal Society — calls for the industry to “defossilize” by moving away from using fossil fuels as raw materials, or feedstocks.
Alternative feedstocks “can act as sources of carbon required for primary chemical building blocks, further intermediate chemicals and ultimately downstream consumer products,” said the Royal Society report.