Under the Paris Agreement, countries have committed to limiting global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. South Africa has also set a pathway towards net zero by 2050 with interim emission reduction targets under its nationally determined contribution (NDC).
Achieving these targets requires emissions reductions across every major industrial sector – including some that operate largely out of public view.
One such sector that remains largely invisible in mainstream climate discourse is the industrial gases sector, despite its energy intensive operations and its role in enabling emissions across multiple heavy industries. Because it operates in the background of industrial process, its climate relevance is often overlooked. Yet the sector produces essential inputs used across manufacturing, healthcare, chemicals and mining.
In South Africa, the significance of the sector becomes clear through the relationship between petrochemical giant Sasol and French industrial gas company Air Liquide. A 2021 transaction between the two companies transferred ownership of the massive oxygen production system at Sasol’s Secunda facility to Air Liquide. The deal was approved by the Competition Tribunal subject to several public interest conditions, including commitments relating to emissions reductions and renewable energy procurement.
This merger placed the industrial gas sector – usually hidden from the public – at the centre of one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industrial sites. However, progress on compliance with the merger conditions has been largely opaque. This lack of transparency raises important questions of accountability. If industrial gases are the hidden backbone of heavy industrial processes, then their emissions – and the role they play in enabling other emissions-intensive industries – cannot remain in the shadows.
Greater transparency, clearer emissions attribution and stronger disclosure around merger conditions are therefore essential. Without them, investors and the public cannot assess whether the companies are meeting the commitments that justified approval of the merger in the first place.
