The Petrochemical Industry Is Failing. Communities Are Paying the Price.

For decades, the petrochemical industry has been steadily losing money and economic viability.

Despite a failed business model, Big Oil companies continue to receive taxpayer subsidies from our lawmakers putting innocent communities and our air, land, and water at risk.

A Weak Business Model

Globally and domestically, governments, businesses, and consumers alike are prioritizing climate policies and solutions, renewable energy, and sustainable materials. As a result, demand for fossil fuel-derived products — including plastics and other petrochemical outputs — has declined.

So, the petrochemical sector has oversupply. Massive build-outs of new facilities have flooded the market with more product than is needed, eroding profit margins.

Oversupply and weak demand make long-term financial stability impossible for any industry.

Petrochemicals: High Risk, Low Reward

Petrochemical facilities are marketed as positive for communities because of perceived benefits like jobs and increased tax revenue. But these petrochemical plants end up costing more than anticipated to build and yield poor financial returns once in use.

It is projected that roughly 5 million jobs in the fossil fuel sector can disappear by 2030. The renewable sector, however, is one of the fastest-growing job markets worldwide, employing almost 35 million people.

In addition to underdelivering economically, petrochemical sites pollute air, land, and water. Communities near these sites bear the cost through preventable lung disease and their children getting cancer at four to seven times the rate of other children. These costs rarely appear on corporate balance sheets but are deeply felt by families.

The Human Cost of Petrochemical Pollution

We now know that the extraction and processing of fossil fuels contribute to global warming, drive extreme weather events, harm human health, and contaminate our air, water, and land.

According to a study published in Science Advances, each year in the contiguous United States, air pollution from oil and gas is linked to:

→ 91,000 premature deaths,
→ 10,350 pre-term births, and
→ 216,000 new cases of childhood asthma. 

The same pollution is also responsible for 1,610 cancers.

The pollutants released into the air from turning fossil fuels into plastics are also linked to:

→ nervous system damage, 
→ reproductive and developmental disorders, and
→ record levels of low birth weight.

Industry workers and residents living near these facilities are at a greater risk, facing constant exposure to life-threatening toxins. These dangers also disproportionately affect marginalized and low-income communities.

These health impacts represent yet another way communities subsidize a declining industry — through increased medical and health insurance costs, lost productivity, and diminished quality of life.

Petrochemical companies profit off the pollutants they are exposing us to.

Countries around the world are already reaping the economic and health benefits of investing in renewable energy. From lower electricity prices and job creation to cleaner air and reduced healthcare costs, nations that prioritize clean power strengthen their economies while protecting their communities.

A Better Path Forward

Innocent communities are paying the real price of a failing petrochemical industry — polluted air, contaminated water, and unfarmable land. Hard earned taxpayer money is being wasted to create avoidable health harms and line the pockets of the wealthy. Instead of throwing more money at a failed business model, Big Oil companies and politicians should divert our resources toward creating a clean, stable, safe economy of the future.

As global policies tighten, consumer demand shifts, and fossil-fuel markets continue to weaken. Accelerating the transition to clean energy isn’t just environmentally responsible — it’s a smart long-term business strategy. Yet it is not happening.

Demand answers from your elected officials — question continued investments, including taxpayer supported subsidies, in an industry that is proven to lack viability, and harms public health and the environment.

Clean Air Action is fighting to stop the expansion of harmful petrochemical facilities and to protect communities from pollution and health risks. By advocating for clean energy, stronger protections, and smarter investments, we’re working toward a future where economic prosperity does not come at the expense of public health.

Learn more here.