"Green Deal" - Interview with Marco Mensink

What is CEFIC’s view on the EU Green Deal?

Cefic supports the Green Deal and Europe’s ambition to become climate neutral by 2050. It is also clear that energy-intensive industries, such as chemicals, are indispensable to Europe’s economy, as we supply key value chains. Climate neutrality can only be achieved with the help of the chemical industry and chemical-based solutions. Lithium batteries are just one example, the electric car etc. are all crucial for us. The Green Deal requires technological breakthroughs available in Europe by 2030. The question is how to keep industry running and earning the money to fund these changes. It also requires new types of chemistry and chemicals. Plastic recycling is now an issue at the forefront, but there will be much more. The Green Deal is a market opportunity. For example, re-launching the “renovation wave” to improve energy efficiency of buildings, reviving car manufacturing and creating relevant infrastructure for renewable energy are the key areas where investments are urgently needed as part of the post-COVID19 Recovery plan and the Green Deal.

Talking about climate protection and circular economy: Which changes will our industry face in the future?

We have a pretty good overview of the technologies needed. Electrification, new furnaces and cracker technologies, Hydrogen chemistry, CCS and CCU and Bio and recycled feedstocks are all part of the mix. To remove all CO2 emissions, the industry will have to go through a massive transformation within just one or two investment cycles. Nothing will stay the same as we know it today. Crucial is that governments provide the infrastructure to enable us to move forward. Pipelines, grids, interconnections, etc. are needed to enable the huge growth in renewables needed to allow industry to electrify and use hydrogen. 
 
Could the new Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability weaken European companies' competitiveness?

The current drafts we have seen of this strategy are not a strategy but a set of measures that misses coherence. So yes, we need to be very concerned. A strong and coherent Chemicals Strategy that supports domestic chemical industry is a must for the achievement of the European Green Deal. If and where Europe decides to move beyond the current REACH system, it will need to ensure this does not simply lead to more imports of articles with substances that do not comply with European rules and even beyond, we need to build a system that awards those in the global markets who comply with what is already the most stringent regulatory system in the world. So the approach needs to start with strengthening enforcement, giving more support to innovation, measures that especially keep the SME’s in the industry competitive, help develop new substances which are sustainable and safe by design, and foreign policy, before further strengthening the regulatory system. We know in the current plan the rules on endocrines and mixtures are up for review, but an overall approach for CMR’s and other substances in consumer products is also very much on the table. We believe however this is very much and not only about competitiveness, it is about the viability of our sector to operate in Europe. What we ask for is a dialogue at the highest levels of industry and policy makers to discuss this approach. 

What risks do you see for the European chemical industry when you think of the competition in Asia or the USA?

Where the risk lies however is if we can attract investments into Europe and keep ‘Standort Europe’ core to some of the largest chemical companies in the world. This does not only have to do with the regulatory measures. Core is the fact that we have a population that is forecasted to be stable and even declining – and markets to only develop marginally. So key question – how do we take our European share of the global growth, where soon Nigeria alone could have as many people as in Europe as a whole and Africa on our doorstep will be the largest market in the world?

What is your vision for our industry in 2050?

We have described our vision in the Cefic’s Mid Century Report ‘Molecule Managers’ which sets out a plausible path towards a prosperous, more sustainable Europe in 2050. This means to innovate toward circular models, to lead on sustainability and to be at the forefront of new technologies. I am confident that the chemical industry will lead on the way to transition and that together with all stakeholders we will achieve this immense task.