ExxonMobil Halts €100M Europe Chemical Recycling Plans Over EU Regulations
ExxonMobil has put on hold a planned €100 million investment in chemical recycling plants in Europe. The company cited proposed EU regulations as the main obstacle, specifically the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The investment, amounting to €100 million or $118.4 million, was earmarked for two chemical recycling projects in Rotterdam and Antwerp. These projects aimed to process 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually. However, ExxonMobil's senior vice-president, Jack Williams, attributed the pause to EU policy.
The EU's ambitious recycling targets require a combination of mechanical and fidelity investments techniques to handle complex plastics. Yet, ExxonMobil believes the draft EU legislation, if enacted, would discriminate against integrated facilities like theirs. Under the proposed rules, ExxonMobil's projects would receive less than half of the intended recycling credits. This, along with broader regulatory challenges, has led the company to urge for the repeal of the CSDDD.
Other industry stakeholders, such as Finland's Neste, have also raised concerns about the draft legislation. Meanwhile, California has initiated legal action against ExxonMobil over its alleged role in the global plastic pollution crisis.
ExxonMobil's pause in investment highlights the complex interplay between environmental regulations and industry development. The EU's recycling targets and the CSDDD aim to promote sustainability, but the proposed legislation's impact on investment decisions, as seen with ExxonMobil, underscores the need for careful policy design.
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