India, Sweden co-lead industry transition track under high-level UN Climate Action Summit

India and Sweden are co-leading an industry transition track under the high-level UN Climate Action Summit, hosted by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, that will create stronger commitments from sectors such as steel and cement to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

With a view to boosting ambition and accelerating action to implement the Paris Agreement, the Climate Action Summit will focus on nine interdependent tracks, which will be led by 19 countries in total and supported by international organisations.

The nine tracks are mitigation, social and political drivers, youth and public mobilization, energy transition, industry transition, infrastructure, cities and local action, nature-based solutions, resilience and adaptation, climate finance and carbon pricing.

"The collaboration between India, Sweden, the World Economic Forum and many others to kick this process off is leadership by example and I look forward to seeing how this develops over the coming years," Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary General, said while addressing the 'Setting the context for the industry transition programme' for the Climate Action Summit here Saturday.

India and Sweden are co-leading the Industry Transition track, which will focus on creating stronger commitments from the "hard-to-abate sectors" such as steel, cement and build on positive momentum in areas such as shipping. It is supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Mohammed recalled her recent visit to India for the 14th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and said she saw an "amazing demonstration of what is happening at the sub-national level that is being galvanised by leadership at the helm.

"That again is leadership for things that are happening in very big countries that face huge challenges, when you talk about the numbers, the breadth and the depth of ambition that has to be had."
"It is our responsibility to make sure these solutions move beyond pilots, and that they can reach the scale needed to make a difference. This is why it is so important today to see countries like India stepping upfront because there is no demonstration of scale like there would be in countries like India," she said, adding that the challenge is enormous, but "so are our capabilities when we act together."
"We already have a joint innovation partnership where businesses from the two countries work together on some of our major challenges including climate," she said, adding that this is an example that a "small but hi-tech country can work together with one of the largest countries facing a major industrial and economic development."