As part of its 2022 G7 Presidency, Germany has put the idea of a “Climate Club” for international cooperation in industrial decarbonisation on the political agenda. This is one of many different proposals and initiatives that have emerged over the past year.
The success of the global industrial transition hinges on international cooperation, as energy-intensive materials are traded globally. The industrial transition requires truly global lead markets to guide investment decisions into low-carbon technologies. Deployment of these breakthrough technologies can be significantly accelerated through concerted efforts at an international scale. Finally, the industrial transition requires a new global “market infrastructure” and a common understanding of “rules of fair play” as countries decarbonise.
The German G7 Presidency is an important window of opportunity to accelerate the global industrial transition through a comprehensive collaborative framework.
In this study, we analyse which international framework conditions need to be put in place for energy-intensive industry to successfully decarbonise already in this decade, as well as which pitfalls to avoid. We map out the existing landscape of initiatives and show which gaps need to be addressed by the climate club agenda.
