At COP30, chemical companies push biobased climate solutions

Belém, Brazil—On the sidelines of the COP30 climate summit, representatives from chemical companies Braskem, Mitsubishi Chemical, Sekab, and others have been gathering with technology experts from the United Nations, various national governments, and nongovernmental organizations to discuss one of the toughest climate issues: how to decarbonize their industry.Biobased alternatives to fossil fuels rose to the top of the conversation this year, buoyed by the fact that the host country is a major player in this industry. In the run-up to the summit, the Brazilian COP30 presidency announced an initiative, Belém 4X, to quadruple the use of biofuels and biogas, hydrogen, and other alternative fuels by 2035. The effort has generated significant buzz, and more than 20 other countries have signed on. But it has also raised concern over the risks of increased biofuel production contributing to deforestation, displacing food production, and infringing on Indigenous peoples’ land—particularly in the Amazon rainforest, where COP30 is taking place.Of the “hard-to-abate" industries—chemicals, steel and cement—chemicals are the furthest behind, according to attendees.“These sectors provide the foundation of modern life—from the fertilizers that feed us to the materials that house, heal, and connect us—but they are also among the largest and fastest growing sources of industrial greenhouse gas emissions. So these are high stakes for us,” said Noura Hamladji, deputy executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), at a Nov. 12 panel discussion organized by her agency’s technology executive committee, along with the UN Industrial Development Organization and the government of