Chemical companies are putting European assets up for sale as they review their operations in the region to cope with high energy prices and competition from newer plants in Asia and the Middle East.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire owner of petrochemicals group Ineos, has consistently warned that Britain’s chemical industry is heading for extinction because of high energy prices and carbon taxes.
Petrochemicals groups were part of the lobbyism shitshow that landed us in these prices.
We cannot all work in the IT field or bank.
When we will all of us be unemployed, not sure we will be able to buy everything from asia or russia.
We just witnessed a month ago that we need an european army/ industry, and some of you think it’s good we lose the only things that we still have.
If you want to improve the industry, maintain it in Europe.
This is just about the petrochemical industry. They have to die anyway.
Sure, let’s just import it all instead
You do understand that petrochemical industry is a nice term for oil refineries? The bit we actually need can be imported no problem, but not all of it, as most should be replaced with greener alternatives.
I do.
But replacing those with greener alternatives is easier said than done. Petrochemicals are used to make detergents, lubes (industrial and otherwise), tar for roads, plastics, etc… Importing all those things is a massive undertaking I’m not sure we’ll benefit from, either financially nor ecologically…
3/4 of refined oil is made up of gasoline, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel. We would import significantly less by just importing those products or just in between products.
“Die” is a bit harsh but stripped of their political influence and cut down to their bone, allowing the parts of these companies that are net negatives in terms of human survival to go under.
Considering the damage chemical companies do to the environment and public health this sounds like a very good thing for Europe, but they will look for places where the leach is looser and it might be a really bad thing for the planet as a whole. I hope EU governments care enough about that
In Europe they can’t do much harm, we have very strict regulations. But without chemical industries, we’ll not have modern society: no food for 8 billions, no tech, no gas and no batteries, no plastic. You want to remove from Europe the chemical industry and than what?
Can’t do much harm? Chemical companies are still dumping forever chemicals (PFAS) in our rivers. With or without a permit to do so. Yes, governments give companies permits to pollute our rivers. Just look at recent examples like 3M polluting the Scheldt:
In Europe they can’t do much harm, we have very strict regulations. But without chemical industries, we’ll not have modern society: no food for 8 billions, no tech, no gas and no batteries, no plastic. You want to remove from Europe the chemical industry and than what?
There is a minimum viable petrochemical sector. It’s not the current one.
This
+ Kicking chemical companies out will just make them behave severely more recklessly somewhere else, which is gonna overally harm the environment
Well we have food for 16 billion and half of it is thrown away.
And 80% of the other half is used to feed animals, turning every 1000kg of food into 1kg of food.
European hypocritical green policies continue to export pollution to Asia while undermining the future of their own local industries
How is it Europe fault’s that China is still happily building new coal plants and not regulating industry?
well… the situation is very convenient for Europe as they still get what they need but those things that depend on pollution come from outside Europe. a better policy would be for Europe to aim for ecological preservation without doing that at the expense of other willing countries
So, what should Europe do?
But, those factories can obviously operate just fine inside Europe, as they are currently doing so. They just make more profit under the lax Chinese regulations, which are set that way by the Chinese government.
Europe can’t legislate China.
