Source: news.dow.com
Topic: Chemical Industry
Sort Desciption: Number two, how we in the chemical industry have a major role to play in shaping a. future ... where higher growth is compatible with responsible ...
Content Inside: 1 Event: EUROPEAN PETROCHEMICAL ASSOCIATION KEYNOTE ADDRESS Speaker: Andrew Liveris, Chairman & CEO, The Dow Chemical Company Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco Date: September 25, 2006 Energy and the Chemical Industry: The Future Arrived Sooner Than We Expected I am honored to be here in a double sense, first to speak before so many experienced and knowledgeable members of our industry, and second, to be part of this distinguished panel of keynote speakers. Today I am going to cover two items: Number one, a realistic appraisal of the world’s use of energy both now and in the future; Number two, how we in the chemical industry have a major role to play in shaping a future . where higher growth is compatible with responsible stewardship of the planet. First, the subject of energy, starting with the observation, obvious but often overlooked, that energy powers civilization … it heats and cools our homes, runs our ships, trains, planes and automobiles, our computers, telephones, refrigerators, our hospitals, and of course, our great manufacturing plants. At the end of the day, we cannot avoid the simple fact that energy is the indispensable element of modern civilization. Now, at a time when whole new regions of the world are taking advantage of unprecedented opportunities for economic growth . with the promise of greater prosperity more equitably distributed than ever in human history to hundreds of millions of people across the globe . we need to remind ourselves that this prosperity depends on energy, most of it in the form of fossil fuels. And that’s not likely to change any time soon. By the year 2030, experts estimate that energy use will have grown between 50 and 60 per cent … and the proportion of fossil fuels in that mix will remain roughly at what it is today . about 80% … with the rest divided among nuclear, hydro-electric, wind, solar, geothermal … and combustible renewables. And by the way, these projections are based on a relativel ...
