While climate activists call on oil and gas giants to ‘keep it in the ground,’ many products of our modern way of life – from clothing and cosmetics to detergents and medicines – come from the biggest industrial consumer of both oil and gas – the chemical sector. The chemicals industry has heeded calls for emissions reduction and is looking at ways to make the processing of fossil fuel raw materials less carbon-intensive. But proponents of the so-called green chemistry believe that much more can be done to make the industry sustainable, avoiding unintended consequences such as harm to people and the environment while at the same time reducing waste, conserving energy, and discovering replacements for hazardous substances. Green, or sustainable, chemistry could undermine Big Oil’s petrochemical ambitions , especially in an increasingly environment-conscious world. Environment-conscious or not, consumers will never stop needing the many products of the chemicals […]