Ministers from 9 countries call for ambitious action to accelerate the low-carbon transition of industry.
Photo: Vattenfall / Jorrit Lousberg / Flickr
In a joint ministerial statement released on 7 July 2020, Denmark, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom have called for continued momentum and ambitious action to ensure an industry transition that tackles the climate crisis, creates decent jobs and delivers prosperity for all.
The statement was announced by Eva Svedling, State Secretary for Climate Policy and Agenda 2030, at the Industry Transition Day.
Download the statement
Ministerial StatementThe ministers, who represent countries that are members of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition, call for continued momentum and ambitious action on policy, technology and finance to accelerate the industry transition.
“The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic must not divert attention from reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement and delivering low-carbon emissions from heavy industry,” said Isabella Lövin, Minister for Environment and Climate, and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden. “The green recovery can and must be a motor for the industry and energy transitions and for resilient economic growth.”
For his part, Babul Supriyo, India’s Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said with this statement, “we reaffirm our commitment to accelerating the transition of all industry sectors to low carbon pathways in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, while pursuing efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and to working in partnership with industry to make this happen.”
The statement calls for partnership and action in three areas: policy, technology, and finance.
On policy, the ministers highlight the importance of using public procurement and standards to create markets for the climate neutral and circular products of the industry transition.
On technology, the statement calls on the UN to strengthen the use of existing structures to facilitate sharing of technology, know-how and infrastructure for the industry transition.
On finance, the signatories call on the private finance sector and multilateral development banks to develop risk sharing business models, and on the parties of UNFCCC to honour the commitment of financial flows to developing countries to ensure required support for the transition.
For the United Kingdom (UK), Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, said: “The UK is a proud member of the LeadIT initiative. In the run-up to COP26, we look forward to working closely with all member countries to build back better, pursue a green recovery and accelerate the decarbonisation of industry.”
“The industrial transition will result from innovation and investments, which highlights the role of enabling environment and competitiveness of the industry,” said Mika Lintilä, Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland. “Sectoral low carbon road maps are an essential tool to pave the way for industrial transition. Finland’s recently completed road mapping exercise has proven that the industry is ready to take an ever more active role in climate action.
The statement is signed by:
Carole Dieschbourg
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Luxembourg
Prakash Javadekar
Honourable Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Information and Broadcasting, and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, India
Jeppe Kofod
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark
Kwasi Kwarteng
Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, United Kingdom
Mika Lintilä
Minister of Economic Affairs, Finland
Isabella Lövin
Minister for Environment and Climate, and Deputy Prime Minister, Sweden
Eamon Ryan
Minister for Climate Action, Communication Networks and Transport, Ireland
Svenja Schulze
Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany
Eric Wiebes
Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Netherlands
Press release from the Swedish government
Press release (in Swedish)