Biomass, plastic waste and carbon dioxide feedstocks key to cutting chemical industry’s emissions

Efforts to defossilise the chemicals industry are likely to rely on biomass, plastic waste and carbon dioxide to source the raw material needed to produce the essential everyday chemicals demanded by modern society. That’s the conclusion of a new report published by the UK’s national scientific academy, the Royal Society, which has outlined the major challenges facing the sector as it looks to transition away from fossil-based feedstocks. The report aims to inform policymakers of the potential future options for reducing the sector’s environmental footprint, but stops short of making specific policy recommendations – something the Royal Society believes is the prerogative of governments.

Reducing industry’s reliance on fossil-derived feedstocks is essential as the world attempts to limit the effects of anthropogenic climate change. Around 6% of the planet’s carbon emissions are linked to the chemical industry. A large proportion of these are direct emissions released by burning fossil fuels to provide the huge amounts of energy that the sector relies on. And at least a third of the industry’s emissions are linked to the fact that it sources almost 90% of its raw materials from oil, natural gas and coal.