Unlocking hard-to-abate industries’ net-zero transformation

Aker Horizons is a partner of the Bellona Pavilion in the Blue Zone at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP (Conference of the Parties). At COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Aker Horizons hosted and participated in a series of panels dedicated to the energy transition and accelerating decarbonization. This panel was hosted by Aker Horizons and the IEA.

Industrial sectors account for nearly 40% of global energy consumption and more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The transformation of these sectors is pivotal to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. However, emissions keep increasing due to growing demand for basic materials as the world develops and effective global climate policy responses remain lacking. Reversing this trend and aligning the emissions trajectory with the goals of the Paris Agreement is an urgent and challenging task. While efforts are under way and commitments are being made, the reality of net-zero for these industries is lagging and extrapolating from today’s speed of progress will fall far short. How do we close the gap?

Moderator:

Peter Levi, Industry Lead, Energy Technology Policy Division, IEA

Speakers:

• Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet and Strategic Brands, Maersk
• Irina Gorbounova, Head of XCarb Innovation Fund, ArcelorMittal
• Lei Zhang, CEO, Envision
• Gokce Mete, Senior Manager Global Hydrogen Stakeholder Platform, South Pole
• Fridtjof Unander, Chief Economist, Aker Horizons
• Severine Mateo, Head of Low Carbon Transition Group, BNP Paribas
• Arshad Mansoor, President and CEO, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)