Green Industrialisation

This fact sheet defines green industrial policy (GIP) as government strategies to promote sustainable industries and phase out greenhouse gas emitters. It highlights the success of China's electric vehicle industry as a model for GIP but warns that developing countries face significant financing, skills, and technological barriers. The document emphasizes the role of the G20 in shaping global GIP principles, particularly under South Africa's agenda, which focuses on leveraging critical minerals to drive inclusive economic growth and manufacturing in Africa.

• Green industrial policy (GIP) is defined as government strategies to promote environmentally sustainable industries, such as renewable energy and low-carbon technologies, while phasing out industries that emit greenhouse gases.
• Fossil fuel subsidies create a competitive disadvantage for renewable energy; the IMF reported that these subsidies totaled $7 trillion, or 7.1% of global GDP in 2022.
• China has successfully used GIP—including subsidies, tax breaks, and infrastructure support—to dominate the electric vehicle (EV) market, accounting for 70% of global EV production.
• Developing countries face five primary challenges in implementing GIP: resistance from vested interests, financing gaps leading to debt dependency, skills gaps, technological barriers (including intellectual property protections), and weak state capacity.
• The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, while intended to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels, risks penalizing developing countries for their emissions-intensive exports.
• Under its G20 agenda, South Africa is leading efforts to develop G20 Principles on Green Industrial Policy, a G20 Framework on Critical Minerals, and G20 Principles for Inclusive Growth, Jobs and Inequality.
• African nations, including South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Guinea, Gabon, and Mozambique, possess critical minerals essential for green technologies and should use them to drive manufacturing and job creation rather than remaining purely extractive.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). Green Industrialisation. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet7-Green-Industrialisation-web-2.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Green Industrialisation. 2025. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet7-Green-Industrialisation-web-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Green Industrialisation |date=August 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet7-Green-Industrialisation-web-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2025green, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Green Industrialisation}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IEJ-G20factsheet7-Green-Industrialisation-web-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }