Industry Leaders Unite for Climate Solutions

Welcome to the Top of the COP daily newsletter, brought to you by the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions. The Top of the COP will highlight action of non-State actors — businesses, investors, cities and regions, Indigenous Peoples and youth — accelerating progress towards 2030 goals.

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Driving the day?

Industry is rising to the challenge of climate change making steady progress across certain sectors. But we need to pick up the pace. Rapid decarbonization is needed to meet the global goals of the Paris agreement and build resilience.?

At COP 29, industry leaders are supporting enhanced national government ambition with new insights on how policies for stimulating green demand can rapidly transform heavy industry.

Moving in the right direction

At COP 29, global business leaders and a network of more than 700 financial institutions? called on governments to use policy to stimulate demand for green products and seize the potential of industrial decarbonization in a letter issued by the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA) .

New data from Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) shows that out of an estimated 700 commercial-scale projects that need to be operational by 2030, 136 projects have successfully moved beyond the Final Investment Decision (FID) stage.?

In addition, the ITA, together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and its Center for Decarbonization Demand Acceleration (CDDA) released the Green Purchase Toolkit to equip businesses that intend to purchase green commodities with the practical solutions necessary to stimulate and deliver on demand signals.?

Breakthrough in international collaboration?

The Breakthrough Agenda - launched at COP 26 to accelerate the global adoption of clean technologies - has announced that more than 61 countries, responsible for 80% of global emissions, have pledged to support a new series of priority actions to cut carbon in the coming years. These "Baku Priority International Actions" aim to strengthen collaboration in key sectors and advance climate action in the runup to COP 30 in Brazil.

The Hydrogen Breakthrough: Priority International Actions for 2025 aims to expand political support for scaling clean hydrogen production and use to accelerate progress towards the Breakthrough goals.

Taking concrete action?

Earlier this week, global cement leaders called for urgent government action to support their net zero mission. The call is included in the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s (GCCA) Cement Industry Net Zero Progress Report 2024/25. This follows the announcement of industry for low-carbon cement definitions in recent weeks, an important signal for faster green market creation.

Finance flowing to industry

Last month, the multilateral Climate Investment Funds announced that it will deploy up to USD 1 billion in funding to decarbonize heavy-emitting industries, including cement, steel, iron, and chemicals. These currently represent nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Supporting developing countries through cross-border collaboration.

The Global Matchmaking Platform (GMP) was launched today. Its aim is to fast-track the decarbonization of heavy-emitting industries in emerging and developing economies by offering a gateway for governments to raise customized requests and identify globally leading technical and financial solutions to decarbonize their energy and emissions-intensive industrial sectors.

The GMP is part of the Climate Club. Launched at COP 28, it comprises 43 countries and provides a forum for exchange on industry decarbonisation,? serving? as an enabling framework for increased collective action across diverse geographies.?

Improving energy efficiency in Africa

The African Union and Denmark will provide USD 2 million over three years to support the? implementation of the African Energy Efficiency Programme and enable the establishment of an African Energy Efficiency Alliance, bringing together governments, businesses, financial institutions, and donors. The Programme aims to double energy efficiency by 2030 through grid loss reduction and development of minimum energy performance standards.

Rising demand?

To further accelerate the transition, the Zero Emissions Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) announced this week the first commercial deployment of e-fuels in the maritime sector through its next tender to be? launched in January 2025. This would equate to 1.4 million twenty-foot containers transported across the Pacific Ocean by e-fuels.?

Earlier this week, Norwegian shipping company H?egh Autoliners joined forces with Australian green technology, energy and metals group Fortescue to call on global shipping regulators to fast-track the adoption of green ammonia. The First Mover Coalition members have committed to working together to explore the technical and commercial requirements for a green ammonia supply chain for bunkering, from Fortescue’s proposed global portfolio of projects to H?egh Autoliners’ global bunkering.

Spotlight on Small and Medium-Enterprises (SMEs)

Today, the UN High-Level Climate Champion of the COP 29 Presidency, Nigar Arpadarai will host a signature event for the Climate-Proofing SMEs campaign. Launched earlier this year, it brings together more than 40 collaborator organisations and leaders working to empower SMEs as critical players in the green transition.

To date, the campaign reaches almost 90 million SMEs in more than 100 countries. Almost 9,000 SMEs are taking ambitious action as members of the Race to Zero through the SME Climate Hub.

Ms. Arpadarai will be joined at the event by representatives of business, finance, academia, subnational governments and cities, international organisations, and policymakers to elevate the role of SMEs as critical drivers of the transition to a net-zero resilient future.

SMEs are offering their solutions and insights that countries can consider in the design of and implementation of their NDCs. See the new set of guidelines by the International Trade Centre, a Climate Proofing SMEs campaign collaborator.

Earlier this week, Acumen, a leading global nonprofit impact investor and collaborator of the Climate-proofing SME campaign,? announced a USD 300 million climate finance commitment over the next five years to support agricultural adaptation founders, entrepreneurs, and social enterprises across East and West Africa, India, Latin America, and Pakistan. This latest commitment makes Acumen one of the largest adaptation investors in agriculture for small and vulnerable farmers in developing markets.

Support for eco-innovation?

Earlier this month, the Earthsoft Prize announced a new global network, with 17 initial members, to foster collaboration between accelerators, incubators and other organisations supporting climate innovation around the world, aiming to help a wide range of climate startups tackle the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.?

The new programme aims to scale up 10,000 eco-innovations this decade. It has been formed in collaboration with Undaunted@Imperial - a partnership between Imperial College London and The Royal Institution, and home to the UK’s longest-running specialist climate accelerator.??

Innovative climate technologies and artificial intelligence are also enhancing industrial resilience. For example, Race to Zero member Google’s Flood Hub is an operational early warning system that produces real-time flooding and river level forecasts to more than 80 countries.?

Making an impact

In the face of the climate crisis, solutions are emerging faster than ever, tackling every aspect of the challenge. The new High-Level Champions’ series, Impact Makers, shines a spotlight on those leading this change from the ground up.?

Explore today’s Impact Makers, revolutionizing industries from wine and textiles, to energy and transport.??

REYHAN JAMALOVA - Harnessing the power of rain to solve energy poverty?

PABLO CASTELLANOS RAMELLI - Extending the life of lithium-ion batteries for clean energy in Latin America

FRANNY COLLINGHAM - Creating a sustainable fashion future through low-impact, timeless design

MIGUEL A TORRES - Paving the way for a climate-resilient future in winemaking

Call for inputs: COP 29 climate action announcements

?The UNFCCC secretariat is tracking climate action announcements made at the twenty-ninth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29), including the launch of:?

• climate initiatives;
• pledges and declarations;?
• publications and reports;
• any other climate action announcements.?

This information will be used to inform the Global Climate Action Portal (GCAP), formally known as Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA), in particular,? its COP 29 event page. Please find the online form to submit your inputs here or via the QR code below.

About the High-Level Champions: The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions drive ambitious climate action by connecting the work of national governments with the many voluntary and collaborative actions and initiatives from non-Party stakeholders such as cities, regions, businesses, investors and civil society. This includes delivering the five-year plan of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, in collaboration with the UNFCCC secretariat and other partners, using the tools and frameworks included? in the? 2030 Climate Solutions. H.E. Razan Al Mubarak and Ms. Nigar Arpadarai serve as the current High-Level Champions of the COP 28 Presidency and the COP 29 Presidency, respectively.