“We’re really facing a narrow window of opportunity,” she added. “At the current pace, it would take us about 35 years to get all of these projects actually sanctioned.”
MPP is an alliance of global climate and business groups. Last year, at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, the organization launched the ITA to advocate for greater investment in commercial-scale, clean industrial projects. This month, during the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, they released the list of 700 projects, along with a policy playbook geared toward government leaders.
Delasalle said that all countries need to adopt stronger policies to help lower costs and financial risk for industrial plants that make things like green ammonia, low-carbon cement, and near-zero-emissions steel. While voluntary efforts to pool private-sector demand have helped get the first few projects built, developers say they need greater certainty that their customers are willing to pay more for cleaner products before investing in the next wave of facilities.
The policy brief calls for countries to adopt carbon-pricing measures, which would penalize fuels and materials made using dirty methods and bring greener options closer to cost parity. Governments should also adopt mandatory quotas for low-carbon construction materials used in public works projects like bridges, roads, and buildings. In the United States, for example, California has adopted a Buy Clean policy that sets maximum emissions limits for steel, glass, and mineral wool insulation that the state procures.
“We need [green industrial] projects to be approved much faster, and for that to happen, the projects really need to be bankable,” Delasalle said. “And that’s where we need policy to kick in.”
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