The Government today launched the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy to set out their priorities for the transition to a low carbon economy.

Responding to the report Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association said:

"We applaud the Government's recognition, of the findings of the recent International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) report that sets out how vital the chemical industry is to cutting society's greenhouse gas emissions.  The ICCA report shows that products of the  chemical industry, such as insulation and innovations in parts for the motor industry, currently help deliver greenhouse gas savings 2-3 times greater than their emissions; the report concludes that with an effective global policy framework, this could rise to more than 4:1 by 2030.

However, we are concerned that the Government's proposals for decarbonising electricity generation will increase energy costs, threaten energy security and risk of carbon leakage from energy intensive solution providers like chemicals.

The Government must rebalance its proposals with a greater emphasis on clean coal and new nuclear to reduce any over-reliance on imported natural gas and expensive and unreliable wind power. 

However, in order to pay for new low carbon supplies, a significant increase in energy prices is still inevitable.  It is therefore important for the greening of the economy that Government also considers ways of reducing the impact of carbon and renewable incentives on the costs of energy intensive solution providers."

Contact Name: Fiona Ferguson