According to ShareAction, a responsible investment group, it is technically feasible to achieve complete decarbonization of chemical production by 2050, and it is becoming increasingly feasible economically. The group said that although the chemical industry has made contributions to climate change, it has not been largely affected by shareholder participation.

One reason for the lack of attention is that the industry is often seen as an industry that is difficult to weaken, and investors are focusing on the low-end results of the energy and transportation industries. However, the ShareAction study found that the production of emission-free chemicals has only a "very small impact" on the price of the final product. For example, the use of non-emission chemicals to produce plastic bottles will only increase the price of these bottles by 1%.

The report found that by 2030, as the cost of renewable energy and green hydrogen gradually decreases, the transition to an emission-free chemical industry will become more and more economically viable. However, it warned that transformation requires more than just chemical production. Fertilizers and plastics are key end products of the chemical industry, so companies must also include their emissions as part of their decarbonization strategy.

Despite the environmental and economic risks, ShareAction's report found that there are still few reliable transition plans for the industry. For example, of the 21 Stoxx Europe 600 chemical companies, only two have the 1.5C target approved by the Science Targets Program (SBTi).

ShareAction formed a US$3.2 trillion investor working group to advance these recommendations in their own participation and disseminate the survey results more widely to investor participation practices. The group includes Federated Hermes' EOS, Barrow Cadbury Trust, EdenTree Investment Management, the British Society of Jesus, NN Investment Partners and Sarasin&Partners.

Keywords: overseas engineering, international engineering construction, foreign engineering construction news

Federated Hermes participant and head of chemical division Joanne Beatty's EOS said: "In our view, 2021 will be seen as a turning point for investors to participate in climate action, and more attention will be shifted to neglected sectors such as chemicals. , Which is important for accelerating the company’s progress in climate transformation."Editor/XuNing