How to replace fossil fuel feedstocks used in making chemicals with alternative carbon sources? Chemicals are essential components required to produce pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, plastics, paints, adhesives, coatings, electronics, cleaning products, and toiletries. Chemicals are made using an initial raw material – known as a feedstock. The vast majority of chemicals are made using fossil feedstocks – oil, natural gas and coal. These feedstocks are then transformed into intermediate chemicals and ultimately downstream consumer products….

The chemical industry cannot fully ‘decarbonize’ – as most chemicals inherently contain carbon atoms that are essential to the material’s structure. Decarbonisation measures such electrification and improved energy efficiency would help to reduce the chemical industry’s emissions. Alongside decarbonization measures, the chemical industry will also have to ‘defossilize’ – by replacing fossil feedstocks with alternative carbon sources to make chemicals….The chemical industry could defossilize by using

–biomass,

–plastic waste and

–carbon dioxide captured from the air

as alternative carbon sources to make chemicals instead of using fossil fuels.

Excerpt from Defossilising the chemical industry

See also: A/HRC/59/42: The imperative of defossilizing our economies – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change