≪Japan Chemical Industry Association≫
Technical Affairs Department, Phone: + 81 3 3297 2578
URL: http://www.nikkakyo.org/

May 22, 2017

Chemical Industry’s VISION on Global Warming Countermeasures
Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA)

I. Introduction
As global discussions on global warming countermeasures have progressed, strong calls are
emerging for specific actions to be taken to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG).
Although the medium-term target has already developed for the GHG emission reductions
promised by each country under the Paris Agreement to be promoted by further strengtheningof conventional countermeasures, it has been called upon to re-establish the balance between
the environment and the economy on a global scale so that it is truly sustainable over the longterm. In order to realize this, it will need not an extension of existing conventionalcountermeasures, but new and transformational innovations.
"Chemistry" creates revolutionary and useful materials, which are produced by various
substances. The chemical industry can make the latent potential of “chemistry” industrialized
and also can play a core role for innovations as a solution provider of global warming issues.
Accordingly, Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) had organized the Working Groupfor Review of Long-Term Strategy on Global Warming (here in after referred to as the “WG”)
under the Technical Affairs Committee with the participation of experts from its member
companies, related organizations and academia. The purpose of this WG is to provide chemicalindustry’s vision and solutions on global warming countermeasures in 2050 and beyond, and to
propose the long-term strategy for the chemical industry to build a sustainable society. JCIA
expects that this vision will be taken into account at the formulation of the long-term strategy
in Japan under the Paris Agreement.
[Reference: Current policy trends in response]With the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, the movement to address global warming
countermeasures is becoming full-fledged. In Japan, “the Plan for Global WarmingCountermeasures” (Cabinet decision in May, 2016) was decided and the plan defines a path toachieve a mid-term target of 26.0% greenhouse gas emission reduction by FY 2030 comparedto FY 2013, clarifying policies and measures to be implemented. The long-term goal has aimed
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the year 2050. This 80% reduction will not be
achieved through the extension of existing measure so far, but will be enabled by eachindustry’s development of transformational technologies and by enhancement of collaboration
with other industries to engage in projects that transcend industry lines and deploy Japan’s
technologies and innovative power on a global scale.
* If the emissions are reduced by 80% from the total of 1.41 billion tons (of which 360 million

tons are emissions from industry) compared to the base year of FY2013, this means that only
250 to 280 million tons will be allowed to be emitted.

-1-≪Japan Chemical Industry Association≫
Technical Affairs Department, Phone: + 81 3 3297 2578
URL: http://www.nikkakyo.org/

Toward formulating “the long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies for2050”, Japan is required to submit the long-term strategies to the UN Secretariat by 2020.
Under the leadership of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), “Long-term
Global Climate Change Policy Platform” has been set up and compiled a report. Based on thediscussion results of “the Task Force for the Expansion of Inward Investment” and “the Task
Force for Overseas Expansion Strategies”, both of which were established under the platform.
And long-term strategy formulation is being promoted through collaboration between industry,
government, and universities. In addition, Under the Ministry of the Environment, “Long-term
Low-carbon Vision” was developed, based on the discussions results of its Subcommittee under“the Global Environment Subcommittee” of “the Central Environment Council”.
JCIA has worked on voluntary initiatives named “The Commitment to a Low-Carbon Society”
formulated by the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren). The goals of the voluntary Action
Plan are (a) Emission reductions from domestic business operations in Japan by 1.5 million
tons-CO2 compared to BAU in 2020 and by 2 million tons-CO2 compared to BAU in 2030, (b)strengthening co-operation with other interested groups (achieving reductions in otherdivisions through low-carbon products, services, etc.), and (c) o promoting contribution at theinternational level.
*BAU (business-as-usual scenario): CO2 emissions calculated under the assumption that theenergy efficiency of economic activity in the year in question remained at the 2005 level

II. The vision of the chemical industry
1.

State of mid-21st century society
The chemical products currently used in society are generally made out of carbon fromfossil feedstocks. They are vital to support many industries and livelihoods by using widely
not only in consumer goods but also in various manufacturing processes. Although they willcontinue to be used in large quantities in the future, the source of carbon will be diversified
towards a carbon circular economy. However, the use of fossil fuels as energy sources is
considered to be drastically reduced.
As Japan’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions have progressed, a social system based onhydrogen and electric energies will be established and renewable energy will become themainstream as a secondary energy source.

2.

Chemical industry as a solutions provider
In order to establish a carbon-circular society with greatly reducing GHG emissions, thechemical industry not only proposes and disseminates chemistry-based product designs andusage scenarios to GHG reductions, but also proposes and supplies the materials andproducts that can make the circular economy possible. As a result, the chemical industry
will be recognized as a global solution provider.
To play the chemical industry’s role as a solutions provider and to be supported by society,the following technologies and business model are required.
-2-≪Japan Chemical Industry Association≫
Technical Affairs Department, Phone: + 81 3 3297 2578
URL: http://www.nikkakyo.org/[1] Establishment of carbon-circulation[2] Process and energy innovation[3] Selection of environmentally focused business model and establishment ofsocial infrastructure to allow the business model[1] Establishment of carbon circulation
As the study on carbon circulation has progressed, raw materials to produce various
chemical products will become increasingly diversified. At the same time, a social
system for promoting carbon circulation need to be developed.
Even after 2050, fossil resources as feedstocks has continued to use with theadvancement of noble use of oil (especially those with low utilization rate of heavy
fraction etc.), the improvements on the chemical reactions and the progress in efforts
to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions by recycling of chemical byproducts andwaste chemical products as raw materials.
[2] Process and energy innovation
Efficient production of chemicals at the petroleum refining and petrochemical
process has been improved (direct extraction of light fractions from heavy oil,membrane separation of various fractions, and selective recovery of target fractions).
Energy-saving technology in the process of manufacturing mass production products
has been applied to the new construction of facilities in developing countries and theinternational contribution with Japanese technology has been recognized.
Also, remarkable energy savings will be achieved in the production processes forhigh-value-added chemicals along with great improvements in the safety of chemical
processes as well as reductions of waste generated when changing conventional
reaction process.
Various kinds of materials produced in industrial complexes and plants will create
and offer new products of high value with economy through the creation and utilizationof a wide variety of value chains. This leads to reduction of energy consumption andminimization of emissions and logistics costs.
Moreover, plants located in the same complex will establish a flexible and efficientenergy exchange system among industrial complexes and other companies, so thatutilization of waste heat dramatically has been promoted and as the result the energy
consumption has been reduced.
[3] Selection of environmentally focused business model and establishment ofsocial infrastructure to allow the business model
Chemical industry supplies materials that enable "important and key functions" inthe products which are necessary for consumer’s daily life, as well as for economic
activity. And another "important and key functions" is the reduction of GHG especiallyat the stage of product use. Chemical industry proposes the design and use scenario of
the products to reduce GHG emission at the stage of usage of the product, which isbrought by cooperation along the chemical industry’s value chain. As a result, thedevelopment of consumer products leading to the reduction of GHG emissions will
progress dramatically. While chemical industry emits a certain amount emission of
GHGs at the production stages, chemical industry will provide the potential value of-3-≪Japan Chemical Industry Association≫
Technical Affairs Department, Phone: + 81 3 3297 2578
URL: http://www.nikkakyo.org/

the products to its downstream manufacturers, which lead to the GHGs reduction at
the use stage of the products. Various contributions toward the energy efficiency andclimate change countermeasures can be made by actually incorporating importantmaterials corresponding to the proposal.
(i) Through the use of products, to achieve reductions of GHGs emission that
greatly exceed the amount of GHG emitted at the stage of materials production(ii) By supplying materials, produced through the most efficient processes that
reduce GHG emissions, to recognize the products, as environmentally responsible
products from the perspective of the overall reduction of GHG throughout their life
cycle
Through the cooperation along chemical value chain toward the zero GHG
emissions society, the business model to integrate environmental consideration into
product design, development and production will become widespread in the society. In
addition, the development of materials and products by considering recycle, theadvancement of standardization in recyclable design, and the flexibility to change
conditions at the manufacturing process will percolate throughout society.
The utilization of AI (artificial intelligence) will evolve (or advance) toward theestablishment of technologies and business model mentioned above. In addition toaccelerating development of innovative catalysts and highly safe and functional
chemical products, research bringing social transformation, for example, the synthesisof amino acids and proteins from air and silicon from ordinary rocks as raw materials,
will continue to germinate the innovations that will lead to the next society.
Significant innovation will continue to be created by tackling innovation themes thatenable huge scale (order-of-magnitude) improvements, not merely by the extensionof existing measure’s improvements or refinements (2-fold or 3-fold).

III. Toward realization of the JCIA’s vision
In order to realize "the chemical industry’s vision on Global warming Countermeasures", itis necessary to have the strategic direction toward the below focused areas and to make efforts
to preferentially achieve them.
1.

Carbon circulation of raw materials
It is necessary to promote a diversification of feedstocks that leads to carbon circulationand minimize GHG emissions in the life cycle of chemical products. As thecountermeasures, based on a long-term perspective, chemical industry will promote carbon
dioxide capture and utilization (CCU), use of biomass feedstock, and utilization of natural
gas as fuel and/or feedstock, and use of methane hydrate resources. At the same time,
chemical industry will work on the development of technologies necessary for reuse ofwaste (waste plastic etc.) as a carbon source. Also, chemical industry will thoroughly
promote highly sophisticated use of fossil feedstocks. Regarding the use of biomass as raw
materials, chemical industry will promote technological development for two cases, one is
to use biomass as it is, such as cellulose nanofibers and lignin, etc., and the other is to use
it as raw material for basic chemicals.
-4-≪Japan Chemical Industry Association≫
Technical Affairs Department, Phone: + 81 3 3297 2578
URL: http://www.nikkakyo.org/

With regard to bioplastics (plastics produced from biological resources), it is expected
technology development, not only with cost reduction, but also with adding nonconventional value, such as coloring and controlling sterilizing properties owing to the
biological origin of the materials, which have never been before to improve its performancein order to establish its business model.
Along with above these technological developments, it is also necessary to establish thesystem to effectively collect the carbon source for chemical processes by promote theutilization of AI when biomass and waste as the carbon source were collected andtransported.
2.

Processes for minimizing energy use, and structural shift
It is necessary to promote technological innovation to achieve energy savings on an
extraordinary scale in the manufacturing process. Firstly it is to develop membrane
separation processes as the alternative distillation processes, which consume a lot of energy
in the manufacturing process. With regard to high-value-added functional chemicals, it will
promote to develop flow reactors (micro reactors) and bio generations as new and highly
energy saving ways to produce, instead of the conventional batch production method of
manufacturing, which spend huge energy for many product types in small quantities. It will
also aim to realize epoch-making methods that carry out a reaction in a transportation
process equipped with a new reaction system.
To reduce the energy use ratio by fossil fuels’ combustion, it will develop innovativetechnologies to exchange electric energy to thermal energy, such as resistance heating(Joule heat), microwave heating, induction heating, and heat pumps for industrial
applications. Moreover, it will develop innovative processes without energy loss, such as
inserting a heat-absorbing process or repeating heating and cooling after a process thatemits heat. Furthermore, in order to increase energy efficiency, it will combine theprocesses of heat generation and heat absorption and will utilize waste heat. Then it will
establish an energy management system by going beyond individual company within local
petrochemical complex. As an effort by corporates’ collaboration, it will build a mechanism
for effective utilization of materials within an industrial complex.
Parallel to above these efforts, it will promote the utilization of AI in applications asestablishing technologies such as minimizing the energy that has conventionally beenrequired for regular repairs, predicting the lifespan of a production plant that transcend
conventional concepts and in achieving feedforward control of processes that canaccommodate various types of products, handle operation switching, and cope with
disturbances.

3.

Reduction of GHG emissions throughout product life cycle
It will commercialize high-insulation materials, highly lubricating materials, etc., as new
materials bringing the entire value chain innovation. It will develop high-strength
lightweight materials (such as CFRP, CFRTP) and will proactively propose them todownstream user industries and will establish the system of cooperation. It will finallycontribute to the energy savings and minimizing emissions of GHGs throughout the
product life cycle. Rather than adhere to the conventional business model of responding touser requests, it is expected for chemical industry to establish a new business model
wherein chemical industry can make proposals to the final product manufacturers inanticipation of the-5-≪Japan Chemical Industry Association≫
Technical Affairs Department, Phone: + 81 3 3297 2578
URL: http://www.nikkakyo.org/

potential needs of the end user/customers. By using the business model, the chemicalindustry can propose product designs and use scenarios that will lead to overall reductionsof GHG emission. Finally, chemical industry will play a leading role along the value chain
and will establish its position as a solution provider to reduce GHG emission and achieve
climate goals.
4.

Expansion of the carbon-circular economy at the global level
Chemical Industry has been contributing to worldwide reduction of GHGs emission by
the overseas deployment of its experience, technologies, products, and know-how
cultivated by the establishment of a carbon-circular economy in Japan. Through bilateraldialogue and at the international organizations’ meeting, chemical industry has sought
opportunity to make its experience, technologies, products, and know-how widely known
as indispensable to sustainable society and has sought the way for deployment of theJapanese technologies and business models in emerging countries
The following items should now begin to be tackled as actions based on the vision.
[1]The chemical industry should get all the collective effort by working together
with other industries, the government, and academia/universities to formulate
programs for developing innovative technologies.
[2]In order to contribute to significant GHG emission reductions overseas, thechemical industry will prepare for establishing the approach to propose theinnovative technologies brought by the chemical industry to the internationalorganizations for the internationally deployment of the technical strengths in theway of economic rationality.
[3]The chemical industry should establish a system of collaboration that transcends
conventional industrial boundaries and propose a new social system in order tobring about social innovation throughout the entire value chain.

IV. Conclusions
It is obvious that the response to global warming awaits extremely high challenges on a
global scale. Even in Japan, it is also obvious that the global warning countermeasures are
toughest challenge level to overcome the issues. The solution cannot be accomplished bychemical industry alone. It requires the cooperation along the chemical industry’s value chain.
All stakeholders related to chemical industry will join together as never before to engage inactivities of global warming countermeasures. Chemical industry surely make any effort to
tackle the shared challenges of global warming and secure social recognition of the chemicalindustry’s position as a solution provider that can solve problems related to global warming andcan contribute to enable a sustainable society. JCIA earnestly expects its stakeholders to referto the “vision” and to develop their own strategic plan to implement the concrete global
warming countermeasures.
End of document-6-

Chemical Industry’s VISION on Global
Warming Countermeasures
 Develop an implementation plan of Japanese INDC based on the Paris Agreement and submission
to the UN Secretariat (by 2020)
Creating innovation to solve global problems by manifesting the potential of "chemistry”

Ideal situation as a solution provider① Establish the carbon
circulation•Use of various raw materials② Increase energy efficiency bytransforming the process· Improvement of efficiency andinternational expansion③ Propose the new social system
Proposal of product design for realizationof reduction of GHG considerably
exceeding emission at the manufacturing
stage

Toward realization of Ideal situation① Carbon circulation of
raw materials• CCU, biomass, LNG,
methane hydrate resources,
bioplastics, and waste
usage, etc② Process and energy innovation•Distillation ⇒ membrane separation•Flow reactor, bio-production system•Energy waste elimination process• Energy · material management within
the industrial complex③ GHG reduction through productlife cycle• New materials leading to innovationof the entire value chain• Propose products to supply chainspredicting the potential needs of end
consumers④ Expansion overseas / Deployment in emerging countries on a business basis /Bilateral dialogue and utilization of international organizations
Formulate a technology
development program bycombine the total power of thechemical industry

Make proposals and systems forinternational expansion of
products and technologies witheconomic rationality
2017

Construct collaborative system /social system that causes social
innovation throughout the value
chain

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