Can Europe’s chemical industry survive net zero?

Europe’s chemical industry is facing an existential crisis. It may not be able to raise the hundreds of billions of dollars that the region’s sector will require to transition to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Small-scale studies show that some European chemical companies may already be falling behind on their commitments. Part of the problem is that Europe’s supply of renewable energy is not growing fast enough to meet the chemical industry’s demands. If Europe’s chemical sector is to survive intact, industry experts say, it will need substantial subsidies from European governments. About 5 years ago, most of the world’s biggest chemical companies updated or reset their goals for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a simple but compelling target: net zero by 2050. Executives at companies from across Asia, Europe, and the US congratulated themselves on setting a goal that was more ambitious than the partial reductions they