Chemicals are essential to modern healthy living and are also vital to delivering a low carbon economy. We are doing this by continuously reducing our own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and helping others to reduce their emissions by using chemical products and technologies. Many of these solutions are produced in the UK. UK and EU strategies to reduce GHG emissions need to recognise the role we play if the chemical industry’s contribution to the low carbon economy is to be maintained and enhanced.
This report sets out how, here in the UK, the chemical industry is already delivering the climate change solutions that arehelping to reduce our GHG emissions. The McKinsey report underlines how we can play a crucial role in delivering the UK’s low carbon future.
The UK chemical industry and its employees are continuously striving to improve our own emissions performance and we passionately believe in producing the climate change solutions which can contribute to both the UK’s low carbon transition and a broad-based UK economic recovery.
It is painfully apparent that, if we are to sustain and grow this contribution, we need to see an improvement in the UK business environment for energy intensive sectors like chemicals which operate in global markets. The current outlook is not good: a recent independent study for employers and trade unions(1) shows that as governments both develop targets and regulations without anything similar globally, the resulting policies will double UK energy prices by 2020.
The fight against climate change is one that needs to be fought and one to which we contribute. In the absence of a global inclusive climate change agreement, it is vital that the UK acts quickly to mitigate the impact of these increased energy and carbon costs on the sectors that are most exposed.
We hope the recommendations we make in this report will help to assist effective policy design. This will ensure we remain, in the UK, a vibrant and innovative industry delivering low carbon solutions.
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The chemical industry delivering a low carbon future 24 hours a day
In this document we have set out how, here in the UK, the chemical industry is already delivering the climate change solutions that are helping to reduce our GHG emissions
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