Now he is going after a more challenging target: new petrochemical plants that make fertilizer, plastics and packaging. It won’t be easy.

Petrochemicals remain an essential part of modern life, used to make clothing, cars, electronics, fuel and fertilizer, not to mention solar panels and other equipment needed in the transition to cleaner energy sources. There are no easy substitutes for most of the products, and the heavy global demand means that if chemical and fertilizer plants aren’t built in the United States, many will instead simply be built in other countries that may have weaker regulations to protect workers and the environment.

Back in 2018, the IEA identified the petrochemicals sector as an “energy blind spot”—a major area of energy demand that failed to attract the level of attention from policymakers that it deserves. Petrochemicals are projected to drive more than one-third of the growth in oil demand by 2030 and nearly half by 2050, surpassing sectors like aviation and shipping. Additionally, the petrochemical industry is expected to consume an extra 56 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2030—roughly equivalent to half of Canada’s total gas consumption.^{1) 2)}

In practice, less than 10 percent of plastics are being recycled, and 22 million metric tons of plastic waste leaks into the environment annually, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.^{3) 4)}