23 September 2019: A global initiative, launched under the Industry Transition Track of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit, will help guide the world’s heaviest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting industries towards the low-carbon economy. The ‘Leadership Group for Industry Transition’ will drive transformation in hard-to-decarbonize and energy-intensive sectors.

The Group was announced by India and Sweden, with Argentina, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and the UK, and a group of companies, including Dalmia Cement, DSM, Heathrow Airport, LKAB, Mahindra Group, Royal Schiphol Group, Scania, SpiceJet, SSAB, ThyssenKrupp and Vattenfall.

Supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Energy Transitions Commission, Mission Innovation, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the European Climate Foundation, among other partners, the Group will engage in an ambitious, public-private effort to ensure that heavy industries and mobility companies “can find a workable pathway to deliver” on the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India, expressed hope that work under the Industry Transition Track will “facilitate early diffusion of technology and support to developing countries.” Welcoming the partnership, WEF Founder and Executive Chairman, Klaus Schwab, said the Forum will help India, Sweden and other partners to “deploy the innovative models and technologies we know are needed to solve our most complex and stubborn carbon emission reduction challenges.”

According to a Climate Action Summit press release, the heavy industry sector, including hard-to-abate and energy-intensive sectors like steel, cement, aluminum, aviation and shipping, is expected to be responsible for 15.7 gigatons (Gt) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Therefore, “international collaboration between countries and industry groups is critical to establish workable policy frameworks and incentives and to enable joint investment into low-carbon infrastructure” in order to reduce emissions and accelerate transition to low-carbon industrial development while pursuing efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. [Climate Action Summit Press Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Climate Action Summit] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on ‘Getting to Zero Coalition’ to Support Decarbonization of Shipping Industry]