There Is No Business as Usual: Decarbonizing Industry Must Start Now

This report by RMI argues that decarbonizing energy-intensive industrial sectors is essential to achieving a 1.5°C climate target and avoiding severe global economic disruption. It asserts that 'business as usual' is an invalid business strategy, as the transition will require not only technological shifts but also a reduction in the demand for materials like steel, cement, and plastic.

• Energy-intensive industrial sectors, including mining, steel, cement, petrochemicals, and heavy transport (ships, trucks, and planes), account for more than 40 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonizing these sectors is critical to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and meeting a 1.5°C target.
• Achieving a 1.5°C or 2°C pathway cannot be done through technology alone, even with carbon removal. It will require a reduction in the demand for materials such as plastic, cement, and steel, which will lead to a peak and subsequent decline in demand for iron ore, coal, steel, natural gas, and oil, resulting in value destruction for these global commodities.
• The transition to decarbonized industry will shift geopolitical influence away from nations whose power is derived from fossil fuel access—specifically Russia (natural gas), the Middle East (oil), and China (coal)—toward those with the cheapest renewable resources.
• Failure to take collective action in the next decade could lead to a 4°C global warming outcome, triggering unforeseen economic disruptions and forcing decision-makers into 'panic mode.' This could result in the reversal of globalization as nations prioritize domestic job creation and supply security over international negotiations.
• New commodity markets will emerge to support industrial decarbonization, specifically hydrogen for zero-carbon fuels and a logistics chain for the transportation and long-term storage of captured CO2.

APA

RMI (2020). There Is No Business as Usual: Decarbonizing Industry Must Start Now. https://rmi.org/resources/there-is-no-business-as-usual-decarbonizing-industry-must-start-now/

Chicago

RMI. There Is No Business as Usual: Decarbonizing Industry Must Start Now. 2020. https://rmi.org/resources/there-is-no-business-as-usual-decarbonizing-industry-must-start-now/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=There Is No Business as Usual: Decarbonizing Industry Must Start Now |date=8 September 2020 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/there-is-no-business-as-usual-decarbonizing-industry-must-start-now/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2020there, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{There Is No Business as Usual: Decarbonizing Industry Must Start Now}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/there-is-no-business-as-usual-decarbonizing-industry-must-start-now/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }