Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023 Edition

The Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023 Edition finds that emission-intensive sectors—including steel, cement, aluminium, ammonia, oil and gas, aviation, shipping, and trucking—are not aligned with the trajectory to reach net zero by 2050. These sectors collectively account for over 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels, with most relying on them for over 90% of their energy. The report estimates a total investment of approximately $13.5 trillion is needed by 2050 to scale clean power, clean hydrogen, and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) infrastructure. While some progress is noted in the US and EU, the report highlights a significant gap in readiness and financial means for companies in emerging economies. Key barriers include high 'green premiums' for low-emission products, which remain largely untested at commercial scale, and a lack of standardized definitions and reporting frameworks.

• Emission-intensive industrial sectors are not currently on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, with absolute emissions growing by an average of 8% between 2019 and 2022 due to increased demand.
• The transition to net-zero for these industries will require a collective investment of approximately $13.5 trillion, primarily for clean power, electrification, clean hydrogen, and CCUS infrastructure.
• Low-emission technologies and products currently hold less than 1% market share in most of the tracked sectors because they are costly and difficult to scale.
• The aviation sector requires approximately $5 trillion in capital by 2050, with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) as a primary decarbonization strategy, though they currently provide only about 40% emissions reduction due to commercial limits.
• The shipping industry's path to net zero relies on zero-emission fuels (ZEFs) like methanol and ammonia, but these could increase total ownership costs by 30-80%.
• Trucking decarbonization depends on battery electric trucks (BETs) and hydrogen-electric trucks (HETs), but adoption is limited to around 1% of the global fleet due to high ownership costs and insufficient infrastructure.
• Steel production is heavily reliant on coal (75% share), and the industry requires $372 billion by 2050 to retrofit assets, with clean hydrogen-based DRI-EAF and CCUS as the main pathways for primary steel.
• The cement industry is critically dependent on the scaling of CCUS from less than 1% to 90% by 2050 to address process emissions from clinker production.
• Aluminium production requires a shift toward clean power and increased secondary production (recycling), with an estimated $200 billion needed to retrofit assets with inert anode technology by 2050.
• The ammonia industry's transition depends on clean hydrogen production, with a projected need for 1,320 GW of clean power capacity by 2050, equivalent to the entire generation capacity of the US.
• The oil and gas sector is best positioned to self-fund its transition, with required investments of up to $880 billion by 2050 representing only 4-6% of its annual CapEx.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023 Edition. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Net_Zero_Tracker_2023_REPORT.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023 Edition. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Net_Zero_Tracker_2023_REPORT.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023 Edition |date=November 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Net_Zero_Tracker_2023_REPORT.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023netzero, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2023 Edition}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Net_Zero_Tracker_2023_REPORT.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }