Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2024
The third edition of the Net-Zero Industry Tracker provides a detailed analysis of the progress hard-to-abate industrial and transport sectors are making worldwide in their efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The eight sectors covered in the report account for approximately 40% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are considered sectors in which reducing emissions can be challenging. Moreover, they play a fundamental role in driving global economic activity and connectivity. As a result, finding solutions to reducing these industries' emissions is critical to achieving global net-zero goals, while ensuring economic prosperity. The tracker provides both quantitative and qualitative scorecards for the sectors to continuously track their progress towards, and readiness for, net-zero targets. Furthermore, it identifies priority areas and key barriers for the industries to encourage targeted actions to facilitate progress towards emission reduction.
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Key insights
The energy transition is advancing rapidly where technologies, supportive policies and viable business cases align, but achieving a net-zero future requires accelerated progress across all sectors, especially in hard-to-abate sectors like steel, aluminium, cement, primary chemicals, oil and gas, aviation, shipping, and trucking. These economically vital sectors face unique physical, macroeconomic and business challenges in significantly reducing emissions. Together, they account for 40% of global GHG emissions, with demand for heavy industry and transport projected to rise by over 60% by 2050.
Cross-sector findings
The sectors in scope last year have made progress in emissions reduction, but improvement in sector readiness scores has been limited.
Aluminium
The industry must prioritize low-carbon electricity, recycling and efficiency now, while advancing electrification, fuel switching, inert anodes and CCUS for aluminium emissions cuts.
Aviation
The industry must prioritize sustainable aviation fuel and aircraft design improvements while advancing novel propulsion technologies to reduce long-term emissions.
Cement
The industry must prioritize supplementary cementitious materials, efficiency strategies and bioenergy now, while advancing CCUS, electrification and fuel shifts for long-term reductions.
Oil and gas
To reduce emissions, fugitive methane capture, zero flaring technologies, and upstream electrification are effective in the short term. Long-term solutions include CCUS, downstream electrification and clean hydrogen.
Primary chemicals
To reduce emissions, the industry must prioritize CCUS, energy efficiency and plastics recycling now, while advancing electrification, fuel shifts, bio-based feedstocks and hydrogen for lasting impact.
Shipping
Long-term emissions reduction relies on clean hydrogen fuels like ammonia and methanol, while short-term solutions include LNG and biofuels.
Steel
Long-term emissions reduction solutions include direct reduced iron in electric arc furnaces and increased scrap steel use; short-term solutions include the use of carbon capture.
Trucking
The industry must advance electric and hydrogen trucks for long-term emissions cuts, while prioritizing biofuels, synfuels and efficiency improvements for near-term impact.
Appendices
Infographics and shareables
Downloads
Emissions fall in hard-to-abate-sectors but still off track to reach 2050 net-zero targets
Press release
'Hard-to-abate' sectors are reducing emissions, here’s how they can accelerate progress towards net zero
Blog