The path to a net-zero industry: How global leadership and collaboration can accelerate the industry transition

Context

Global cooperation and strong global leadership are crucial elements required for a just and equitable green transition. Countries and companies working together across regions to overcome barriers collectively is a key enabler especially for the transition in heavy industry – which not only generates high carbon emissions, but also requires a unique level of collaboration across countries and stakeholders to decarbonize. In emerging and developing economies, who are likely to see the highest increase in demand for industrial products over the next decades, the transition is often particularly burdensome due to higher cost of technology and capital, as well as real and perceived investment risk. For the transition to reach the scale and speed needed, assistance from international financial institutions needs to significantly increase, private capital needs to come in at greater scale and speed, and unique challenges in all economies need to be addressed with even more commitment and collaboration.

Objectives

The objective of this event is to bring together key representatives from governments, heavy industry sectors and their value chains, as well as multilateral institutions to discuss:

• Successful leadership approaches towards enabling industry decarbonization projects (corporate collaborations across value chains, technology co-development, investment funds, country partnerships)
• Ways in which such approaches can be diffused and scaled, and what else is needed to create an enabling environment for investments in heavy industry decarbonization
• Persistent bottlenecks around heavy industry decarbonization, from the perspective of both corporate and government stakeholders
• Unique circumstances, challenges, and opportunities for heavy industry decarbonization in emerging economies

Agenda

14:00 Networking coffee

14:30 Opening Remarks:  Per Andersson, Head of LeadIT Secretariat

14.35 Keynote address: Beniamin Strzelecki, Youth Climate Advisor to the UN Secretary-General

Moderated panel discussion: Global challenges and opportunities

• Mahendra Shunmoogam, Director International Trade Policy, Department for Trade, Industry and Competition, South Africa
• Jasmine Bascombe, Head of International Buildings and Industry Decarbonisation in the Breakthrough Agenda Team, United Kingdom
• Martin Pei, Executive Vice President and CTO, SSAB
• Eduarda Oliveira Zoghbi, Climate and Energy Specialist, Climate Investment Funds

Guiding questions:

• How have circumstances for heavy industry decarbonization in emerging markets evolved in recent years?
• What progress has been made, and how can it be built on?
• What are persistent challenges, and what is needed to address them?
• What policies and forms of international collaboration are most conducive to accelerating industry decarbonization?

Moderated panel discussion: Partnerships for industry decarbonization:

• Annie Hills, Senior Advisor, Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate,United States
• Jennie Cato, Head of Public Affairs and Partnerships, Scania
• Anna Åkesson, Group Environmental Manager, Skanska
• Lina Håkansdotter, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, Stegra

Guiding questions:

• What are successful examples of how multistakeholder collaboration across regions, countries, and between the public and private sector can enable and accelerate decarbonization of heavy industry?
• How can such approaches be scaled, and what learnings can be derived from them? § What does an enabling environment for investments in industry decarbonization look like?

Moderated discussion among speakers and the audience

16.00 Concluding remarks:

Benjamin Dousa, Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Trade and International Development Cooperation

Tanmaya Lal, India’s Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.

Watch the event here