United for Net Zero Public Private Collaboration to Accelerate Industry Decarbonization 2025

Climate change is proving to be more severe than ever. Recent data shows that global temperatures have reached 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the 12th consecutive month as of June 2024 – an unprecedented streak highlighting the accelerating pace of global warming.2 Additionally, the latest report from the Global Tipping Points indicates that eight critical tipping points are on the verge of being crossed, including the potential collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest, and the thawing of permafrost, all of which could lead to irreversible changes in the Earth’s climate system.3 The urgency of achieving net-zero emissions has never been more critical, yet the speed and scale of emissions abatement are insufficient. A recent survey involving hundreds of the world’s top climate experts revealed that only 6% believe the 1.5°C limit will be met, and almost half predict it will be more than 3°C – a scenario that would take the world to uncharted and perilous territory.4 Similarly, even if all countries achieved their current nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and net-zero targets for the coming decades, humanity would overshoot a 1.5°C emissions budget by a total of more than 600 gigatonnes (GT) of carbon emissions between now and 2050, leading to warming of 2.5°C by the end of the century. To close this gap, a 7% reduction in emissions must be achieved annually.5 What is the state of global industry on its net-zero journey? Systems Change Lab’s 2023 report, State of Climate Action 2023, indicates that the industrial sector’s progress towards net-zero targets is markedly insufficient. While there are areas of incremental improvement, such as increased uptake of energy efficiency measures and a gradual shift towards cleaner technologies, the overall pace of decarbonization is far too slow to meet 2030 climate goals.6 Selected indicators from this report are shown in Figure 1, highlighting that the industry is considerably off-track and likely needs a U-turn to meet 2030 net-zero targets. For example, to achieve the target of a 35-43% share of electricity in the industry sector’s final energy demand by 2030, the rate of progress must be four times faster than the rate shown by historical data.Industry net zero: the state of play The urgency of achieving net-zero emissions has never been more critical, yet the speed and scale of emissions abatement are insufficient. 1 5 United for Net Zero: Public-Private Collaboration to Accelerate Industry Decarbonization