Energy and Climate Change

As a major energy user as well as enabler of energy - and emissions- saving solutions in all sectors of society, the European chemical industry has a significant role to play in mitigating climate change.

With regard to chemicals manufacturing, it has made remarkable improvements in energy efficiency over the past decades: energy use per unit of product has been substantially reduced (in 2005 by 42% as compared to 1990). Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is another success with which this industry is credited.

The chemical industry has already been working very hard to meet its environmental challenges. Although production in the chemical industry has increased by more than 50% since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by more than 20%. With a reduction of 96 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents since 1990, the chemical industry alone has achieved nearly one third of the EU commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8% between 1990 and 2012.