Decarbonization of Hard-to-Abate Sectors

The hard-to-abate sectors, such as cement, steel, glass & chemicals sectors, and the heavy-duty transport sector, have a vital role to play in meeting the Paris Agreement targets.  They are responsible for roughly 20% of global carbon emissions (with cement and steel manufacturing alone accounting for 14%) and are among the most difficult sectors to decarbonize because of the combination of technological and financial challenges.  The hard-to-abate sectors require significant capex investments to transform their operations and develop new low-carbon technologies. 

During this event, CEOs will convene to unpack challenges and opportunities involved in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors of the economy – including options for accelerating solutions that are technically and commercially feasible today and explore others that will require policy and economic interventions to become economically and technologically viable solutions at scale. IFC’s clients and other leaders in these sectors will showcase recent impactful decarbonization investments and initiatives for decarbonization of their own operations, as well as their supply chains, and will discuss what financing, regulations, and technological advances are needed to catalyze decarbonization of the hard-to-abate sectors at scale.