India and Sweden to Lead ‘Industry Transition’ for Low Carbon Economy
At the UN Climate Action Summit 2019, a new initiative was launched to help guide the world’s heaviest greenhouse gas emitting industries toward the low-carbon economy. The summit was hosted by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly, on September 23.
The Secretary-General called on all leaders, governments, the private sector, civil society, local authorities and other international organizations – to come with tangible, realistic plans that will enhance ambition and rapidly accelerate action to implement the Paris Agreement.
Many countries like India and Sweden along with Argentina, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea, and the UK announced a new Leadership Group for Industry Transition that will motivate transformation in hard-to-decarbonize and energy-intensive sectors.
Talking about the events of the summit, Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said,
Each one of us has to discharge climate responsibilities based on our situations and capacities. I hope that work under the industry transition track will facilitate early diffusion of technology and support to developing countries in this journey.
A group of companies including Dalmia Cement, DSM, Heathrow Airport, LKAB, Mahindra Group, Royal Schiphol Group, Scania, SpiceJet, SSAB, ThyssenKrupp and Vattenfall also succumbed to the cause.
This global initiative will be supported by the World Economic Forum, the Energy Transitions Commissions, Mission Innovation, Stockholm Environment Institute, and the European Climate Foundation among many others in this public-private effort to ensure heavy industries and mobility companies can stick to a comprehensive pathway to maintain a low carbon emission and fulfill the promise of Paris Agreement.
Rejoicing over this new public-private partnership, Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum said,
There is a huge level of support and enthusiasm in the private sector to engage with governments and peers to reduce emissions across their operations and value chains.
Industry sector emissions – steel, cement, aluminum, aviation and shipping are expected to increase by the year 2050. Therefore, the international association between countries and industry groups is critical to establish workable policy frameworks and incentives and to encourage joint investment into low carbon infrastructure.
With the main focus on raising ambition and accelerate action to implement the Paris Agreement, the Climate Action Summit focuses on nine interdependent tracks, which are led by 19 countries in total and are supported by international organizations.
