Preface to ‘Green carbon for the chemical industry of the future’

The chemical industry is an important industrial sector and is responsible for providing many of the materials that are essential for the well-being of society.Such materials include polymers, fertilizers, disinfectants and pharmaceuticals to name just a few important effect materials.It is estimated that over 100 000 chemicals are currently produced, each targeted to a specific application.At present, the greater majority of these chemicals are produced using fossil carbon, i.e. from natural gas, oil and coal.A large number of the chemicals are derived as by-products from oil refining, which is operated primarily to produce gasoline and diesel.Today, there is a growing awareness that anthropomorphic carbon dioxide emissions through the excessive use of fossil carbon resources are leading to global warming and therefore represent an existential threat to life on our planet.It was against this background that a Royal Society Discussion Meeting on the topic of Green carbon for the chemical industry of the future was held in London on 11-12 December 2023.The meeting was attended by over 150 delegates in a hybrid meeting with participants present online and in person.The topic for this discussion meeting was how can we replace fossil carbon with carbon derived from sustainable sources, which we denote as green