Guest comment

CHET THOMPSON PRESIDENT & CEO, AMERICAN FUEL & PETROCHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS (AFPM)

Refiners and petrochemical manufacturers fulfil an indispensable role in today’s world. Our industries make modern life possible through affordable fuel and petrochemical products that enable everything from daily transportation to advanced technologies, to critical health and medical products such as N95 masks and syringes for life-saving vaccines. Our products make life better, safer, and more productive for people everywhere. For nearly two years, we have navigated a pandemic that has brought hardship and loss, and driven millions of people into poverty. We also face the prospect of a global population that will grow by 2 billion over the coming decades. Our industries are prepared not only to help the world recover economically, but also to supply the fuel and petrochemical needs of a growing population. We must do this sustainably, now and for generations to come, while addressing critical issues such as climate change, the management of plastic waste, and rising standards of living. In the last 10 years, refiners have invested more than US$100 billion to improve efficiency and produce lower carbon fuels. These investments have reduced our emissions and carbon intensity by 12% in the past decade. And despite its historic expansion, the petrochemical sector has experienced similar results. Today, refiners are bringing more low carbon fuels to market, making record investments in the scale of renewable fuels like renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. They are also driving progress in emission reductions through technologies such as carbon capture and storage and increasing renewable power generation at their facilities.

Petrochemical manufacturers are making major contributions to address the issue of mismanaged plastic waste. Several of our members have recently announced major breakthroughs in advanced recycling. These breakthroughs will allow us to turn plastic waste into virgin quality feedstocks, yielding products of the same quality, strength, durability, and purity as those manufactured from virgin feedstocks. These advanced recycling innovations vastly increase the possibilities of what we can do with

Our industries are plastic waste and will help make the world a greener prepared not only to place. At AFPM, we are help the world recover working with policymakers economically, but also and other stakeholders to advance public to supply the fuel and policies that enable our petrochemical needs of members to safely and sustainably provide the a growing population. fuels and petrochemicals that the world’s growing populations and economies need to thrive. We are advocating for a nationwide high-octane fuel standard that would result in emissions reductions equivalent to taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road each year. We are pursuing policies to address plastic waste in the environment and spur progress in advanced recycling. We also support our members’ extensive work and investments to operate more sustainably; increase production of low carbon fuels; and drive technological innovation in carbon capture, utilisation and storage, among other emissions-reducing technologies. Throughout our 150-year history, the refi ning and petrochemical industries have continually evolved to meet the world’s changing needs and offer solutions to our most pressing challenges. The vital role that our products play in a healthy and thriving society cannot be ignored.