Chemical Industry (check)

The role of the chemical industry in safeguarding the Global Commons

(1) Japanese chemical industry’s pathways and strategies to achieve net zero emissions — Our new report

NEW October 2024

  • Peer-reviewed academic paper that this report is based on is here.
  • One-page summary of this report is here.
  • Full-version report (Planet Positive Chemicals in Japan) is here.
  • This research report outlines pathways and strategies for the Japanese chemical industry to achieve scope 1, 2, and 3 net zero by 2050, while taking into account Japan’s strengths and weaknesses.
  • These pathways and strategies are based on a peer-reviewed academic paper, and are considered applicable to chemical industries in other countries and regions under similar constraints, such as limited access to renewable resources.
  • The Japanese chemical industry should maximize plastic recycling. It should also secure access to bio-based raw materials and carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites. This is because access to these resources will determine the supply limit for chemical products under net zero.
  • Although the cost of producing net zero chemicals will rise significantly due to additional capital expenditures and the use of new raw materials, the impact on the manufacturing cost of consumer products is expected to be limited.


Planet Positive Chemicals in Japan

(2) Global chemical industry’s vision for the future, including net zero GHG emissions

  • Our report outlines how the global chemical industry can operate within the Planetary Boundaries*1 and achieve net zero emissions for scope 1, 2, and 3.
  • The report (Planet Positive Chemicals) can be downloaded from here.
  • Below are video recordings of the seminar on this report, held during COP27 (November 2022 in Egypt) at the Japan Pavilion.

Abridged Version

Full Version



(3) Background of our research

The chemical industry is integral to our modern life, providing essential materials for healthcare, food packaging, and other industries. However, it is a large source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and belongs to the “hard to abate” industries. Achieving net zero emissions is particularly challenging for the chemical industry, primarily due to the carbon content in many of its raw materials and products. In addition to climate change, the industry faces other sustainability challenges in the Planetary Boundaries*1, such as plastic pollution and biodiversity loss, and must address these issues without shifting the burden from one challenge to another.

Our research aims to outline a future vision for the chemical industry and propose scenarios that enable the chemical industry to operate within the Planetary Boundaries while achieving scope 1, 2, and 3 net-zero emissions. More specifically, we focus on capturing the demand for chemical products in a net zero world from a system-wide perspective, study GHG emissions throughout the value chain, and present a roadmap and future role for the chemical industry.

This research is funded by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, and is conducted in collaboration with Systemiq. See Joint Research between the University of Tokyo and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation for the Safeguarding of the Global Commons.

*1 Planetary Boundaries: The nine processes that stabilize the global environmental system (climate change, biodiversity, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, etc.), in which thresholds that must not be crossed for humanity to develop sustainably are defined. Crossing these thresholds increases the risk of large-scale and irreversible environmental change.

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