July 18, 2025 16:38

The Chemical Industry Action Plan unveiled by the European Commission a few days ago to address the crisis gripping Europe’s chemical sector has left UK-based Ineos underwhelmed—despite the company forging ahead with one of the continent’s biggest investments, the €4-billion Project One.

“The plan is too little, too late,” said Tom Crotty, Ineos Corporate Affairs Director (pictured). “It fails to address the real issues, while the US and China race off with the keys to our industrial base. Europe talks, they act, and that’s why investment, innovation and jobs are packing their bags and heading elsewhere”.

Crotty argues that the Chemical Industry Action Plan ignores two existential threats to Europe’s chemical ecosystem: high cost of gas and the escalating cost of carbon emissions. “Without urgent and bold action in these areas, Europe’s competitiveness will continue to erode,” he warned.

He points to Ineos’s petrochemical complex in Cologne, Germany: “Compared to the US, our gas bill is €100 million higher. Electricity is €40 million more. And our carbon costs are heading towards €100 million annually. That’s €240 million in additional cost every year, just to operate in Europe.”

Over 20 chemical plants have closed across the continent, Crotty noted. If nothing changes, Europe faces accelerated de-industrialisation, with skills draining away, supply chains weakening and both emissions and jobs relocating overseas.

“Europe needs more than ambition, it needs action,” Crotty concluded. “Immediate reduction of gas pricing and removal of carbon costs must be the next step if we are serious about maintaining a chemical industry in Europe.”

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