The petrochemical industry will require huge investment to achieve net zero emissions

Recently, the Bloomberg NEF Institute (BNEF) released the report Decarbonizing the Petrochemical Industry: A Path to Net Zero Emissions. According to the report, the global petrochemical industry will need to invest $759 billion by 2050 if it is to achieve net zero emissions.

The report notes that electrification and carbon capture and storage (CCS) will play a central role in reducing emissions from high-value chemical (HVC) production. HVC production accounts for 2% of global emissions, equivalent to the aviation industry's emissions and twice as much as the aluminum industry. The report also outlines a low-emission chemical emissions reduction pathway and describes how emissions can be reduced to net zero by achieving reductions in CCS and electrification costs, even as total production grows significantly.

BNEF estimates that new clean capacity and low-emission retrofits will increase investment in the petrochemical industry by $759 billion compared to normal capacity growth. This is equivalent to 0.5% of the $172 trillion investment needed to decarbonize the global energy sector by 2050. Decarbonizing chemicals will be a capital expenditure-intensive industry, but for all new capacity and retrofits beyond 2030, achieving net zero is critical.