Net-Zero Industry Tracker

The Net-Zero Industry Tracker 2022 identifies a significant gap between current industrial performance and the trajectories required for net-zero by 2050. While low-emission technologies are emerging, the report highlights critical bottlenecks in enabling infrastructure, policy frameworks, and capital inflows. It specifically analyzes the decarbonization pathways for steel, cement, aluminium, ammonia, oil, and natural gas, noting that while some sectors like natural gas have mature abatement options, others like cement rely heavily on the future scale-up of carbon capture.

• Industrial sectors are critical to global climate goals, accounting for nearly 40% of global energy consumption and more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with six specific sectors responsible for approximately 80% of industrial emissions (excluding scope 3).
• Most heavy industries are currently failing to meet the 2030 emission intensity milestones set by the IEA Net Zero by 2050 Scenario, with the exception of aluminium, where 65% of production already meets the threshold due to secondary production and hydropower.
• A massive investment gap exists in enabling infrastructure; to meet 2050 needs for the six focus sectors, global CO2 storage and clean hydrogen production capacities must grow 64-fold and 8-fold respectively, requiring approximately $4.2 trillion in infrastructure investments over 30 years.
• The cost of transforming production assets is estimated at $2.1 trillion, but the business case for these investments is generally weak due to high green premiums and insufficient policy support.
• In the steel sector, primary production requires a transition to carbon capture, hydrogen, or electrochemistry, with an estimated $300 billion in additional asset investment and over $2 trillion in enabling infrastructure needed.
• Cement decarbonization is heavily dependent on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), as it is the only known pathway to bring emissions near zero, though it could increase production costs by 50-85%.
• Aluminium's primary decarbonization route involves a combination of electrification, hydrogen, and inert anodes, with low-carbon power alone potentially cutting emissions by 60%.
• Ammonia production, which is critical for global food security, requires $450 billion to transform its asset base and faces a high green premium of up to 100%, which could risk increasing food prices by 3-26%.
• The oil and gas sectors have an immediate opportunity to reduce emissions through the abatement of methane; 70% of methane emissions can be reduced at zero or minimal cost through the monetization of captured gas.
• Natural gas decarbonization is relatively more advanced, with mature technologies capable of reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions by up to 80% for a production cost increase of only 7%.

APA

World Economic Forum (2022). Net-Zero Industry Tracker. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NetZero_Industry_Tracker_2022_Edition.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Net-Zero Industry Tracker. 2022. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NetZero_Industry_Tracker_2022_Edition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Net-Zero Industry Tracker |date=July 2022 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NetZero_Industry_Tracker_2022_Edition.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2022netzero, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Net-Zero Industry Tracker}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_NetZero_Industry_Tracker_2022_Edition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }