The World Economic Forum has released a new report, Scaling the Industrial Transition: Hard-to-Abate Sectors and Net-Zero Progress in 2025, assessing how far some of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries have progressed toward climate neutrality.
The study examines eight key sectors — aviation, shipping, road freight, steel, cement, aluminium, primary chemicals, and oil and gas — which together are responsible for nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Using the Net-Zero Industry Tracker framework, the report finds that while many low-carbon technologies already exist, their large-scale deployment is increasingly held back by systemic barriers rather than technical limitations.
According to the Forum, accelerating progress will require coordinated action across value chains and policy frameworks. The report outlines five strategic priorities to unlock industrial decarbonisation: stimulating demand through common standards, developing shared infrastructure, reducing the cost of capital, focusing on solutions that are ready for market deployment, and striking a balance between regulatory direction and innovation-driven initiatives.
The analysis highlights that reaching net zero in hard-to-abate sectors is not only a climate imperative, but also a pathway to building more competitive, resilient, and future-ready industrial systems.
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