Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
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Chemicals | Decarbonization
June 8, 2022 – In 2021, many top petrochemical players made emissions reduction goals and announced investments in advanced recycling projects. These public commitments have led to action, with announced activities and investments in asset-efficiency optimization; process setup change; carbon capture, utilization, and storage; electrification; and hydrogen.
To read the article, see “Petrochemicals 2021: Regional fortunes and growing sustainability,” April 29, 2022.
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Visual form
Two-panel bar chart.
Layout / body structure
The chart is arranged as two side-by-side time-series bar panels running from 2018 through 2021. Read the left investment series first and then move to the right-hand count of petrochemical players with carbon-neutral or net-zero goals.
What is being compared
The left panel compares announced investment in circular polymer by top petrochemical players across four years, while the right panel compares how many petrochemical players had announced carbon-neutral or net-zero goals across the same four years.
Measurement system
The left scale is dollars in billions and the right scale is number of players. Each bar has its value printed above it, and the final year is highlighted in bright blue to separate it from the earlier dark bars.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Both panels use four yearly columns with a pale rising wedge shape behind the bars that accentuates the 2021 jump. The left panel labels 0.3, 2.1, 0.5, and 6.0+, while the right panel labels 0, 2, 3, and 14.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart shows momentum accelerating sharply in 2021 on both capital commitments and public climate goals. Earlier years show only modest movement, but the last bar in each panel breaks decisively above the prior pattern.
Key standout values or extremes
Announced circular-polymer investment rises from $0.3 billion in 2018 to $2.1 billion in 2019, dips to $0.5 billion in 2020, and then jumps to more than $6.0 billion in 2021. The count of players with carbon-neutral or net-zero goals moves from 0 in 2018 to 2 in 2019, 3 in 2020, and then leaps to 14 in 2021.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.