Opinion • Green Deal:
Opinion • Green Deal: Bioeconomy is almost not mentioned, seems to have become more of a problem to manage than an option for the future. • But at the same time: demand from the market for more environmentally-friendly materials. A new strategy is needed that embraces the benefits and allies with other sustainable materials. Share to win. The Strategy 2020 must be: Renewable Carbon is the key to a sustainable and futureoriented chemical and plastic industry Future of Plastics The total biomass required to do so (Scenario see graph in Fig 1) would amount to roughly 1% of the biomass currently used around the globe in all fields of application (13 – 14 billion tonnes, of which 60 % alone are attributable to animal feed for the production of milk and meat). A size of less than 0.5 % of the Sahara Desert would suffice to cover this 70 % by means of photovoltaics and CO 2 utilisation. The only unlimited resource Compared to metals and minerals, renewable carbon is the only resource which is virtually unlimited - whether as CO 2 in the atmosphere, which can be utilized with the help of renewable energies or as biomass. That is enough raw material for the next millennia. This is the reason why plastics will gain in importance and the age of plastics has only just begun. And this is precisely why plastics must become sustainable as quickly as possible and regain a good image. Political Measures to Support a Quick Transition to Renewable • Taxation of fossil carbon used in chemicals and plastics - A raw materials tax is much easier to handle than an emissions tax. - We are not allowed to use any more additional fossil carbon – and that is exactly what makes the tax effective and important. - The tax only has to be charged at a few points (extraction and import). - Automatically captures all sectors and applications that use fossil carbon – without any exceptions or special rules. - Recycling, biomass and CO 2 are automatically exempt from the tax. • Discontinuation of any funding programmes in the fossil domain. • Higher costs for fossil CO 2 emissions in the emissions trading system (ETS). • Development of certificates and labels which indicate the share of renewable carbon. • Establishing quotas of renewable carbon for “drop in” chemicals and plastics and a quota for CO 2 -based kerosene. • Report about the percentage of renewable carbon used in the production processes of the chemical and plastic industry (Ranking) Getting to the root of greenhouse gas emissions! 95 % of greenhouse gases contain carbon. Stop the use of fossil carbon. Switch from crude oil, natural gas and coal completely to renewable carbon: Bio-based, direct CO 2 utilisation and recycling. Experts of the nova-Institut comprehensively support companies on their way to renewable carbon. They are looking for the smartest way to use biomass, CO 2 and recycling under ecological, economical, strategic and image aspects. Fig. 1: World Plastic Production and Carbon Feedstock in 2016 and Forecast for 2050 (in Million tonnes) Million t 1200 — 1000 — 800 — 600 — 400 — 200 — 0 — recycled 2 % bio-based — 98 % fossil-based — 370 Million t 335 1200 Million t 2016 2050 The virgin plastic production of 335 Million t in 2016 will increase to 450 Million t in 2050, completely based on renewable carbon. The total demand for plastics of 1,200 Million t in 2050 will be mainly covered by recycling. Table 1: Plastic production today (world) - We need them all! Production in 2019 CAGR 2020- 2025 Fossil-based plastics (without recycled plastics) 360 – 380 million tonnes References: [1] Climate Change and Biodiversity https://www.cbd.int/climate/intro.shtml [2] Biodiversity & Human Well-being https://www.greenfacts.org/en/ biodiversity/l-3/4-causes-desertification.htm [3] McGlade & Ekins 2015: The geographical distribution of fossil fuels unused when limiting global warming to 2°C. Nature 2015; 517:187–190. [4] N.N.: VTT 2019: The Carbon Reuse Economy – Transforming CO2 from a pollutant into a resource. Discussion paper, Espoo 2019 [5] N.N.: Pöyry 2016: The Recarbonisation Trilogy. Pöyry Point of View, January 2016 [6] N.N.: VNCI 2018: Chemistry for Climate – Acting on the need for speed. Roadmap for the Dutch Chemical Industry towards 2050, February 2018 [7] N.N.: EC 2019: A EUROPEAN STRATEGY FOR PLASTICS IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY, European Commission, Brussels 2019, (https://ec.europa.eu/ environment/circular-economy/pdf/plastics-strategy-brochure.pdf) [8] www.globalefficiencyintel.com [9] ROAD MAP CHEMIE 2050 - Towards a Greenhouse Gas Neutral Chemical Industry in Germany https://dechema.de/dechema_media/Downloads/ Positionspapiere/2019_Studie_Roadmap_Chemie_2050-p-20005590.PDF [10] Breyer, LUT University, Personal communication, summer 2019 [11] N.N.: Emissions Gap Report UN 2018 https://wedocs.unep.org/ bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/26879/EGR2018_ESEN.pdf?sequence=10 CAGR 3 - 4 % Bio-based plastics 4 million tonnes 750 450 Recycled plastics 20 – 40 million tonnes — Covered by recycling — 30 % biobased — 70 % Co 2 - based CO 2 -based plastics < 500,000 tonnes 3 – 4% 3% > 6% ? www.nova-institute.com 22 bioplastics MAGAZINE [0/20] Vol. 15
Report ORDER NOW! BOOK STORE www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/en/books email: books@bioplasticsmagazine.com phone: +49 2161 6884463 bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/20] Vol. 15 23
