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ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: January 19, 2022

The chemical outlook for 2022

"C&EN’s World Chemical Outlook 2022"
Chemical & Engineering News

In 2022, the global chemical industry hopes to recover from the ongoing pandemic, despite challenges posed by shifting consumer preferences, pollution reduction measures, and supply chain and labor shortages. A cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, an independent news outlet of the American Chemical Society, analyzes the key policies, market trends and economic forces that will affect chemistry around the world in the coming year.

As consumers increasingly demand more environmentally friendly and sustainable products, the chemical industry is eyeing several measures to slash emissions and pollution. For example, in 2022, companies will widen their scope for reducing greenhouse gas emissions up and down the value chain, from the carbon footprint of raw materials, to the emissions associated with product use and disposal, writes associate editor Craig Bettenhausen. Investments in carbon capture and clean technology will continue an upward trend. And the plastics industry will rethink packaging and manufacturing methods to reduce both discarded waste and its carbon footprint.

On the policy front, the United Nations will tackle pollution with the Stockholm+50 meeting and a possible global agreement to keep discarded plastics out of the environment. Meanwhile, the European Green Deal will challenge the chemical industry, with a potential $80 billion decrease in chemical sales from the new legislation. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will struggle to meet deadlines imposed by the Toxic Substances Control Act, such as completing risk evaluations for high-priority chemicals and proposing rules to mitigate risks. EPA also plans to propose enforceable limits on the flame retardants PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. Driven by strong consumer demand, the U.S. chemical industry will experience an estimated 4.3% growth in 2022, despite continued inflation and supply chain shortages, predicts the American Chemistry Council.

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