Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative

In June 2021, India and UK launched a new work stream to promote efficient use of Industry under the Clean Energy Ministerial’s (CEM) Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI).

It was announced during the 12th CEM meeting, hosted virtually by Chile.

The initiative is coordinated by the United Nations Development Industrial Organization (UNIDO).

The Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative will help in standardising carbon assessments, incentivising low-carbon emission development, and designing industry guidelines.

This article will give details about the Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative within the context of Civil Services Examination.

Context: India is committed towards cutting emission per unit of GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030 as stated by Nationally Determined Contributions. India plans to do this by infusing green technologies and stimulating demand for low-carbon industrial material.

Overview of IDDI

The IDDI is a coalition of public and private organisations working to improve the demand for low carbon industrial materials. The initiative collaborates with governments and private sector enterprises to standardise carbon assessments, and encourage investment in construction materials such as low carbon steel and cement.

The Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative is led by the United Kingdom, India, Germany  and Canada. It brings together a strong coalition of allied initiatives and organizations such as:

1. Mission Possible Platform
2. Leadership Group or the Industry Transition
3. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
4. World Bank.

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Why is the Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative needed?

Among many factors contributing to climate change, heavy industries are the next frontier. Globally, construction materials such as steel and cement contribute about 7-8% of carbon emission. Therefore, it is important to tackle the excessive use of these materials in order to slash emissions.

Research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that if and when developing countries expand their infrastructure, the construction sector alone will emit 470 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050, thus further worsening the effects of climate change.

Decarbonizing steel and cement is a unique challenge when compared to decarbonizing the energy sector:

1. To produce steel and cement, continuous heat is needed, and it is largely dependent on fossil fuels
2. In order to produce steel and cement at a large scale, renewable technology is not available.
3. There is little economic interest to invest in the research and development required to create sustainable technologies in construction materials.

Reaching net-zero CO2 emissions for these sectors will require reducing demand for these materials, more and higher value recycling, and switching to clean energy sourcing for primary production.

Hence, it is required to develop new markets for clearly defined low-carbon construction and manufacturing products. Such products will achieve the long-term goals for net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Key activities of the IDDI

In order to achieve the long-term objectives of the Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative, the following activities will be undertaken:

1. A reporting mechanism standardized for the purpose of providing a robust communication framework for greater accountability.
2. Formation of an evaluation process and tools which will incentivize and reward businesses and contractors when they invest in decarbonised building materials.
3. Implementing minimum standards for law-carbon fuel in order to encourage better production and manufacturing practices.
4. Guidelines detailing the procurement process for government agencies will set environmental project targets and encourage contractors to use low-carbon steel and cement products.
5. Low-cost and free certification service will be launched, enabling steel and cement producers to better demonstrate their commitment  towards the production of low-carbon steel and cement. In turn, this might accelerate global demand for low-carbon steel and cement which have been certified.
6. To improve production processes and a high benchmark on best practices, research and tools for industry, publicly available data, government targets and key sustainable products will be made available.
7. Training and knowledge sharing to ensure that all cement and manufacturers who will have all the access to information required in the global race to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

Facts about Clean Energy Ministerial

• The Clean Energy Ministerial was established in December 2009 at a conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen.
• CEM is a global forum which promotes policies that advance clean energy technology and share knowledge on best practices and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy
• 29 members, including India, are part of CEM
• Its focus areas include improving energy efficiency and providing access to clean energy worldwide.

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