How are fossil fuel giants going to cope with the switch to green energy? Flooding emerging economies with plastic: The fossil fuel industry is leaning into plastic production to stay afloat over the next several years as the energy transition drives down demand for oil and gas, CNBC reports, which will help petrochemicals account for over around half of oil demand growth by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency. Petrochemicals are used to produce plastic, which makes plastic production “the Plan B for the fossil fuel industry,” says the head of nonprofit advocacy group Beyond Plastics. The focus on ramping up plastic comes with its own host of environmental issues, with only 9% of all plastic waste produced being recycled. Output is now being directed towards emerging economies in Africa and Asia, where many countries simply don’t have the infrastructure to recycle plastic.

Chips sales could double to USD 1 tn in less than a decade, fueled by the pandemic’s acceleration of digitalization, writes the Wall Street Journal. Chipmakers’ collective annual sales rose over USD 500 bn for the first time in 2021 — beating even the global smartphone industry. Prolonged supply shortages are expected to push revenues up an additional 9% this year and executives from companies such as GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and Intel have all expressed optimism for the industry going forward.

However, skeptics remain, worrying that the bind of the semiconductor industry could push companies to overbuy chip stocks and then pause purchases, leading to a glut in the market that could force semiconductor prices downwards. Massive investments poured into expanding the industry could also lead to overexaggerated supply once production factories come online during the decade, they added.

Spotify is doing some damage control on the Joe Rogan controversy, adding content advisory warnings to podcasts that discuss covid-19 in an attempt to be responsible in the media they release during the pandemic, according to a statement from CEO Daniel Ek. The podcaster also apologized for the episodes that caused a stir for spreading misinformation about covid and vaccines, reports the Wall Street Journal. Rogan said the show has grown “out of control” and that he will aim to be more balanced concerning the controversial aspect of guests and topics he has on the show.