The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) has joined 14 global companies to set up a new alliance that aims to decarbonise industries and help countries to achieve net zero goals in line with the Paris agreement.
The Alliance for Industry Decarbonisation was unveiled during Irena’s Investment Forum on Energy Transitions in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday, said Irena and Siemens Energy, which is also part of the group.
Other members include Abu Dhabi’s Taqa, Italy’s Enel Green Power, Egypt’s Taqa Arabia, Eni and Technip Energies. France’s EDF Renewables, JSW, Tata Steel, Sable Chemicals, Tatanga Energy, Roland Berger, Spain’s Repsol and Norwegian energy company Equinor.
The first meeting of the alliance is scheduled to take place at the Cop27 climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt later this year.
“Climate action needs industry leaders,” said Irena director general Francesco La Camera.
“This alliance stands for the growing commitment of [the] global industry to act on decarbonisation and unlock opportunities that come with a green industrialisation through renewables and other transition-related technologies like green hydrogen.”
Industries around the world are focusing on cutting emissions to protect the environment.
The industrial sector is responsible for 25 per cent of the world's gross domestic product and about 28 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
“We need to slash greenhouse gas emissions urgently if we are going to tackle climate change,” Mr La Camera said.
“Accounting for more than a quarter of global emissions, the industrial sector is the second largest emitter and requires rapid decarbonisation.”
Abu Dhabi-based Irena, along with the UAE, also unveiled the $1 billion Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (Etaf) platform last year to support new renewable energy projects in developing countries.
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and Masdar are supporting the platform.
The fund signed an agreement in June to provide the anchor investment of $400 million, after committing to investing the amount when the Etaf platform was launched during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow last year.
A number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have pledged to hit their net zero goals in the coming decades.
Last year, the UAE became the first country in the Mena region to adopt a strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
As part of its net zero strategy, the Emirates plans to invest Dh600bn ($163.37bn) in clean and renewable energy projects over the next three decades.
Saudi Arabia also aims to offset its domestic emissions by 2060, with the kingdom's state-owned energy company, Aramco, set to achieve net zero by 2050.
