Energy demand in industry falls in the second half of the Outlook as China’s energy demand declines, outweighing growth in India and other emerging Asian countries. The decline in demand is particularly pronounced in the energy and chemicals sub-sectors in Accelerated and Net Zero due to increasing societal and political pressure on the use of oil products and plastics.
As with other sectors, industry gradually electrifies but at a slower rate due to the difficulty of electrifying high-temperature heat in heavy industry. To decarbonize, heavy industry increases its share of low-carbon hydrogen and bioenergy, and abates remaining fossil fuel use with CCUS. Other industry shifts mainly towards electricity and bioenergy.
Consumption of fuels used as feedstock grows until the mid-2040s in New Momentum. This is driven by demand for plastics and hydrogen used in refining and the production of fertiliser and petrochemicals. In Accelerated and Net Zero, demand declines post-2030 due to actions to limit the use of plastics.