GO4ZERO:Field Visit to a Hard-to-Abate Industry - Hosted by Holcim

The production processes for hard-to-abate industries such as steel and cement are energy intensive, release carbon as a byproduct or both. The challenge for these industries, which are essential to modern life, is to produce more while emitting less.

In a Dec 2024 article, the WEF states that, ”for the first time in recent years, on the whole, hard-to-abate sectors have reduced absolute emissions, achieving a 0.9% drop from 2022 to 2023, as reported in the Net Zero Industry Tracker 2024. This contrasts with a 1.3% rise in global energy-related emissions during the same period. Since 2019, emissions intensity in these sectors has fallen by 4.1%, with a 1.2% decrease in the past year. Five of eight sectors, including aluminium, cement, chemicals, aviation and trucking, have lowered emissions intensity, while energy intensity across these sectors dropped 3.2% in 2022 — 1.6 times faster than the global average. Yet, hard-to-abate sectors still account…