Why the government has to tackle ‘hidden’ chemicals emissions
Chemicals industry insiders warn that without urgent action to tackle the sector’s carbon footprint and drive green investment, the sector will have its head turned by US subsidies
Policymakers are guilty of overlooking the outsized carbon footprint of common household products, having largely failed to deliver a credible decarbonisation strategy for the UK’s chemicals industry.
That is the stark warning contained in a new report released yesterday by think tank Green Alliance, which warns the UK’s net zero targets and economic competitiveness will be at risk unless action is taken to help the chemicals industry deliver on its decarbonisation goals.
The report, titled A New Formula, details how the UK chemicals industry is the second largest industrial emitter in the UK, and while it has set a target of cutting emissions 90 per cent by 2050 emissions reductions have stalled over the past decade.
Moreover, the sector is the source of the significant carbon footprint for many ubiquitous consumer products. For example, the report highlights how the chemicals used to manufacture washing up liquid and the plastic bottle it comes in mean the washing up liquid used by UK households each year is responsible for the same carbon emissions as around 40,000 UK cars, excluding the further emissions associated with any hot water used. Similarly, the production of laundry tablets and their breakdown in sewage works contributes the equivalent emissions of 660,000 cars a year, again without factoring in the hot water used.
However, while chemicals and their derivatives are used in over 90 per cent of manufactured products and materials, including paint, fertilisers, and plastics, as well as myriad consumer products, the report argues the sector has been largely overlooked in policy discussions on how to meet the UK’s net zero targets.
“The chemicals used in everyday products are a huge hidden source of carbon emissions,” said Liam Hardy, policy analyst at Green Alliance. “What we now need is for the government to help British manufacturers make their production processes greener. This should not only help to reduce our carbon footprint and make the UK a science leader but can also safeguard good jobs in our industrial heartlands.”
The lack of progress is particularly frustrating, given credible avenues for slashing emissions across the sector do exist. The sector’s emissions result from both its use of fossil fuels as a feedstock and the energy intensive nature of its production processes. But as Green Alliance’s report highlights there are options for cutting emissions on all fronts, even if the consensus across the industry is that fossil fuels are likely to still be used as feedstocks for some products in the medium to long term.
For example, speaking on a webinar to mark the launch of the report yesterday Hardy highlighted how many chemicals are produced using lower temperature heat processes where energy demand could be met using electric boilers or heat pumps. The report calculates that around three quarters of the industry’s heat demand could be met using electric technologies that could source clean power, slashing emissions in the process. It argues the government should support the industry’s electrification efforts by offering the sector access to cheap renewable power and incentivising a shift from plants reliant on fossil fuels to those powered with greener alternatives, such as heat pumps.
In addition, the report argues there is huge potential to improve the resource efficiency of the products that rely on virgin chemicals for their production, with mandatory product standards and improved recycling infrastructure both capable of playing a key role in curbing demand for carbon intensive chemicals. Similarly, incentivising farmers to optimise fertiliser application could serve to cut emission and costs associated with fertiliser use.
The report also highlights the urgent need to introduce funding and effective standards to manage the switch away from fossil fuel derived feedstocks to lower emission alternatives, such as sustainable biomass, captured carbon, and synthetic chemicals.
Jonathan Hague, head of clean future science and technology, at consumer good giant Unilever warned that without action to tackle chemicals emissions the UK will not be able to meet its net zero goals. “This means targeted support for the chemicals sector to move away from fossil fuels as a feedstock and as energy for chemical refining,” he said. “We’ve set ourselves ambitious goals to halve the greenhouse gas impact of our products per consumer by 2030 and to reach net zero in our value chain by 2039. We’re eliminating virgin fossil-derived chemicals from our laundry formulations, and innovating new ingredients with low end-of-life emissions. But we know we can’t do it alone, which is why we’re also working with our suppliers to accelerate their own climate action. Alongside making our business more sustainable, we see this as an opportunity to provide the billions of people we serve with better home care products that don’t harm the planet.”
His comments were echoed by Sarah Davidson, technology development lead at chemicals giant Croda International, who said the industry was working to cut its emissions, but required support from government to accelerate the switch to new feedstocks and deploy new clean technologies. “For decades we have understood the important role bio-based raw materials play in supporting a low carbon economy, leading our industry in their use,” she said. “As the third major chemical company to have our science-based target validated to the 1.5C pathway, we recognise the importance of support from policy makers, and the chemical industry as a whole, to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions across supply chains.”
Speaking during yesterday’s webinar, Richard Woolley, head of energy and climate change at the Chemical Industries Association, warned there was also an economic imperative for the government to come forward with a more ambitious net zero strategy for the sector.
Highlighting the competitive threat presented by the US administration’s new green industrial subsidy package and the response from the EU, he acknowledged multinational chemicals firms would be attracted by the subsidies and tax breaks on offer to support CCS and hydrogen projects on the other side of the Atlantic. As such, he called on the UK government to urgently deliver long-awaited business models to drive the development of new hydrogen and CCS capacity and take steps to curb power prices so as to help enable the switch to electric heating technologies.
The chemicals industry and the need to decarbonise it has been overlooked for too long. Without urgent action, the government risks the sector disappearing altogether over the coming decades.
