Petrochemicals and climate

Petrochemicals products are everywhere and are essential to modern economies. They include a wide range of products, including plastics, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, packaging, paints, building material, clothing, household goods, medical equipment and many others. They form an essential part of the modern energy system and can be found in solar panels, wind turbine blades, batteries, thermal insulation for buildings, and electric vehicle parts.
This project aims to shed light on the current climate impact of the petrochemical sector and plausible future development of the sector. We perform an extensive literature review and assess which petrochemical industry subsectors are accurately and comprehensively monitored and which sectors present the greatest degree of uncertainty. The study aims to capture the changing geography of the sector and its climate impact, i.e. include aspects of how production is shifting geographically towards China, South-East Asia and the Middle-East and how this is reflected in the knowledge about the climate impact of the industry. To provide comprehensive knowledge, the project covers life cycle analysis (LCA) and environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) research spheres.