Climate policies could hinder chemical industry
Done right, environment and economy can thrive, argues Bob Masterson.
Alberta’s chemistry sector provides many benefits to the province, its communities and citizens. Chemistry is the largest manufacturing industry in the province with annual shipments of $16 billion. The sector employs 8,000 highly skilled workers at an average salary of over $90,000, and supports an additional 45,000 positions in supporting and service industries.
What is less well known is the important role the products of chemistry play in the everyday lives of Albertans, and the role of chemistry in achieving the province’s climate-change objectives.
Chemistry touches more than 95 per cent of all manufactured goods on the planet, including clothing, electronics, transportation equipment, buildings, and food production.
Chemistry is also critical in ensuring these economic sectors are capable of transitioning to a lower carbon future.
For example, of all the energy consumed around the world, one-third is used for heating and cooling buildings. Chemistry innovations, whether from foam insulations, vinyl windows, reflective roofing materials or lowenergy lighting systems, play an essential role in improving the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings and ultimately transitioning these to netzero carbon buildings.
Likewise, chemistry provides low-carbon solutions to the transportation sector. Today, more than 50 per cent of the volume of new cars use lightweight, high-strength plastics to replace traditional and heavier metals. New rubber chemistries have resulted in “green” tires that reduce rolling resistance, reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent. More importantly, chemistry is at the forefront of new battery technologies which will facilitate the transition to electric mobility.
Or consider food packaging. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reports that 1.3 billion tonnes, or more than onethird of all food produced annually, is lost to waste. This equates to the unnecessary release of more than three billion tonnes of greenhouse gases. The use of lightweight packaging films not only contributes to lower energy use and emissions during food distribution, but also has the potential to significantly reduce food waste and associated emissions.
The essential role of chemistry in innovation and the demand for lower carbon and more sustainable products in all sectors is contributing to robust growth in the global chemistry sector. This growth has longevity with analysts predicting a tripling of chemistry manufacturing from current levels over the next 25 years.
Despite being situated at significant distances from tidewater and major markets, Alberta’s chemistry industry has thrived in past decades due to the province’s rich endowment of accessible, low-carbon natural gas liquids that help feed this important industry. With much of the world’s chemistry manufacturing dependent on crude oil, coal and other carbon-heavy inputs, Alberta’s industry has been both cost- and climate-advantaged.
The emergence of new climate policies in the province, however, could raise questions about whether that Alberta Advantage can be sustained.
Designed properly and consistent with the province’s pledge to benchmark the industry against top-of-class performers and protect trade-exposed sectors to ensure their competitiveness and encouraging top performance, provincial climate policies will allow the chemistry industry to continue to provide benefit to Albertans, while addressing climate change by ensuring Alberta’s low-carbon production is available to meet global demand.
Design and implementation of climate policy inconsistent with that stated pledge will disadvantage Alberta producers, deny economic and social benefits to the province, and result in global demand being met by higher-carbon production from other jurisdictions. Surely the former is in the interests of all Albertans.