COP 29: UNIDO calls for countries to raise their ambition with industry
Two UNIDO-led events at COP29 will outline why new country climate plans are crucial for advancing industrial decarbonization and how UNIDO can help countries align their industrial policies with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.
Baku – 11 November 2024: Next year, countries will submit the third version of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs 3.0). These updated climate plans will outline the measures that governments will take over the next decade to keep global temperatures under 1.5 degrees of change. Until now, climate-critical sectors like steel, cement and chemicals have largely been missing from the NDCs. This is despite greenhouse gas emissions from industry growing faster than any other sector, making up 20 per cent of the global total in 2023.
Rana Ghoneim, Chief of the Division for Energy and Climate Action at UNIDO, said: “When countries are submitting these NDCs, they are taking them up to 2050. So this is really the last chance we have to keep to our climate promises. Having the right level of ambition and the related actions also stipulated in the NDC are going to be critical for getting us to 1. 5.”
At COP29, UNIDO is calling for countries to raise their climate ambitions by including more ambitious targets for industries. Through two events, UNIDO will bring together supporting institutions alongside country representatives to explore the barriers and enablers for decarbonizing heavy-emitting industries. UNIDO will also unveil its new package of support, designed to help countries set industry-specific NDC targets, and participate in two further events to demonstrate how important industry-specific targets are for ensuring that we keep the Paris climate promise.
There is a lot to gain by setting industry-specific targets. Countries that include them will create powerful blueprints for thriving low-carbon manufacturing sectors. Countries can also gain a competitive edge by establishing clear roadmaps for low-carbon innovation, allowing industries to advance and scale technologies crucial for net-zero objectives. This is especially relevant for emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) where the majority of industrial growth will happen over the coming decades. For heavy-emitting industries, the next 10 years is particularly important as 2050 is only one investment cycle away.
The first event will highlight why industrial decarbonization is critical for achieving climate goals and how important the NDC revision process is for making this happen. It will showcase UNIDO’s new NDC 3.0 Support Package for EMDEs from the Net Zero Partnership for Industry decarbonization. The package includes modular support options for countries and tailored training to guide government, industry and other stakeholders through the process of setting industry specific NDC targets and plans.
The Package is supported by the Climate Club’s Global Matchmaking Platform, which is working to match suitable technologies, technical knowledge, funds and financing instruments with a country’s industrial decarbonization ambitions and goals.
The second event is focused on showcasing the support available to help countries align their industrial policies with the Paris Agreement goals, while countries going through the process will share their perspectives.
In addition to the two UNIDO-led events, representatives from the UNIDO Division for Energy and Climate Action will also participate in two additional events, making the case for industry-specific NDC targets.
Further details about the events:
- ‘Driving Industrial Transformation through NDCs. Session 1: Technology and policy options for the steel and cement industries’, will take place in the UNFCCC Special Event Room on 18 November 2024 from 15:00–16:30 (GMT+4).
- ‘Driving Industrial Transformation through NDCs. Session 2: Partnerships and collaboration for decarbonizing the steel and cement industries’, which will take place in the COP 29 Japan Pavilion on 20 November 2024 from 13:00–14:15 (GMT+4).