Search Climate Insights Directory

The document explores the climate impacts of carbon-intensive building materials like concrete and steel, emphasizing that while recycling is necessary, it is insufficient to address the scale of production-related emissions. Panelists advocate for a transition toward reuse, natural building materials, and circular business models to lower embodied emissions. Key policy recommendations include federal 'buy-clean' legislation requiring environmental product declarations (EPDs), expanded product stewardship to hold manufacturers responsible for the entire life cycle of products, and the creation of a national circular economy plan to coordinate goals across states and cities.

The document examines how permitting processes can be optimized to support the rapid decarbonization of heavy industry, specifically in Sweden's cement, steel, petrochemical, and refinery sectors. Based on a workshop with government agencies and industrial companies, it identifies key characteristics of successful permitting—such as transparency, predictability, and dialogue—and emphasizes the critical role of competence and resources. The brief argues that while some regulatory reforms may be needed, significant improvements can be achieved within existing frameworks by increasing institutional expertise, ensuring stable funding for authorities, and encouraging companies to treat stakeholder dialogue as a core competence.

The report examines four high-emitting sectors—steel, cement, agriculture, and oil and gas—concluding that none have seriously initiated the disruptive changes required to align with the Paris Agreement. It emphasizes that while long-term transitions will take decades due to investment cycles and systemic complexity, immediate action is required to avoid locking in polluting assets. The authors argue that investors can drive impact through active engagement with value chains and by pressuring companies to commit to fundamental business model shifts rather than simple portfolio reallocation.

RMI proposes a framework for 'climate intelligence' based on four pillars: emissions visibility, standardized accounting, digitized infrastructure using distributed ledger technology, and the scaling of these standards in markets. The document highlights the need to harmonize over 250 existing GHG accounting methodologies to create a 'digital schema' for carbon attribution. A key initiative mentioned is Horizon Zero, funded by a $10 million grant from the Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation, which aims to apply digital disclosure models from the cryptocurrency industry to heavy industrial sectors like steel and cement. The author contends that digitization will make GHG and ESG disclosures as seamless as financial accounting, aligning with emerging regulatory trends in the EU and US.

The document argues that Green Public Procurement (GPP) can leverage the significant purchasing power of governments to stimulate demand for low-carbon materials in energy-intensive industries. It focuses on hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement, noting that five basic industrial materials account for 20% of global CO2 emissions. The brief, produced by UNIDO and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition, aims to provide methodologies for GPP design to help reach Paris Agreement targets.

The document highlights the necessity of public-private collaboration to decarbonize heavy industry, which contributes approximately 30% of global CO2 emissions. It identifies the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), launched by Sweden and India, as a key arena for international cooperation toward net-zero emissions by 2050. The brief examines specific policy tools such as green public procurement, carbon contracts for difference, and carbon border adjustments, while referencing implementation experiences in countries including South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, and the UK.

The briefing proposes a federal low-carbon product standard for the U.S. cement and steel sectors to drive decarbonization. It suggests setting declining emissions intensity benchmarks and allowing the trading of emissions credits among producers and importers. For cement, the author recommends regulating the cement itself rather than concrete for administrative ease. For steel, the focus is placed on intermediate fabricated products. The document emphasizes that such a standard should include both direct and indirect emissions and be supported by price ceilings and floors to manage credit costs. Implementation via new legislation is preferred over the Clean Air Act to ensure coverage of imports and upstream emissions. Potential abatement technologies highlighted include fuel switching, carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), energy efficiency, and hydrogen-based steel production.

The policy brief argues that while free allocation in the EU ETS protects against carbon leakage, it mutes the carbon price signal for consumers, leading to underinvestment in material efficiency. To solve this, the authors propose a 'climate contribution'—a weight-based charge on the consumption of carbon-intensive materials sold in Europe. This mechanism would pass carbon costs to users and generate revenue for climate action without the high administrative complexity or trade conflict risks associated with border-focused CBAMs. The brief compares this approach against three other CBAM scenarios, concluding that combining dynamic free allocation with a climate contribution maintains a level playing field for exports and avoids 'resource shuffling' and downstream leakage.

The document outlines requirements for the EU's proposed carbon border adjustment measure, asserting that it must replace all existing industry protections, such as free pollution permits, to avoid being mere protectionism. It proposes that foreign producers buy pollution permits under the EU carbon market to strengthen carbon prices and incentivise innovation. The author suggests targeting the most polluting sectors—specifically steel, cement, and bulk chemicals—while exempting Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Finally, it argues that all revenues generated should fund climate action, either through EU innovation funds or as climate finance for developing nations.

The World Resources Institute outlines ten priorities for President Biden to address the climate crisis, centered on the principles of inclusive prosperity, focusing on carbon-heavy sectors, and supporting subnational action. Key recommendations include committing to a 45-50% emissions reduction by 2030, passing a $2 trillion climate-smart stimulus package, and phasing out new passenger vehicle sales of polluting cars by 2035. The plan emphasizes a 'whole-of-government' approach combining standards, investments, carbon pricing, and environmental justice to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Carbon Market Watch proposes ten principles for the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM), arguing that it must replace free allocation of allowances in the EU ETS to adhere to the 'polluter-pays' principle. The organization recommends that CBAM cover direct and indirect emissions in high-emitting sectors like steel, cement, and bulk chemicals, and be implemented as an extension of the EU ETS. Key social and diplomatic recommendations include exempting Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), recycling revenues into climate action, and using the mechanism to complement international climate diplomacy and product requirements.

The report asserts that 'business as usual' is an unsustainable strategy for industrial sectors, as over 40 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions originate from energy-intensive industries. It warns that failure to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 threatens the global economy with supply chain disruptions and value destruction for major commodities. The author argues that achieving a 1.5°C pathway requires not only technological shifts—such as the adoption of hydrogen and carbon capture—but also a reduction in the demand for materials like steel, cement, and plastic. The text emphasizes that an orderly transition is preferable to disruptive 'black swan' events and notes a shifting balance of market power away from fossil fuel industries toward climate-aligned corporations.

The document analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the EU carbon market, noting a price drop of nearly 40% to just above €15/ton CO2 as of 25 March 2020. It argues that the current Market Stability Reserve (MSR) is unfit for handling sudden surpluses and proposes specific legislative reforms, including increasing the intake rate to 36% from 2024 and raising the linear reduction factor to at least 4.2%. The author warns against using the health crisis to weaken climate policies or provide unfounded subsidies to polluting sectors like aviation, steel, chemicals, and cement, urging governments to ensure post-pandemic recovery packages support the green transition.

Carbon Market Watch argues that the EU should replace the free allocation of emission allowances in the EU ETS with a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to ensure polluters pay for their emissions. The organization asserts there is no evidence of carbon leakage and proposes that a CBAM should be used as a tool for international climate diplomacy, exempt Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, and be based on carbon performance benchmarks for sectors including steel, cement, chemicals, and power.

The document asserts that carbon border taxes must be contingent on the removal of free pollution permits under the EU ETS to avoid double-protecting industry and to provide a real incentive for emissions reductions. It argues that carbon leakage is not evidenced and that free allocations have historically functioned as subsidies. The author suggests that border measures should be temporary, non-protectionist, and complementary to global climate policies, while advocating for the use of enforceable environmental chapters in trade agreements to drive global ambition.

The report argues that current LCAs for building materials often lack transparency and omit critical data, particularly regarding biogenic carbon in wood and operational emissions. It concludes that for energy-efficient, long-lived buildings in Canada, the choice of structural material has a negligible impact compared to operational efficiency, and recommends prioritizing building longevity and energy efficiency over material substitution.

The report argues that current LCAs often produce variable results due to undisclosed assumptions and omissions, particularly regarding biogenic carbon in wood products. It emphasizes that building energy efficiency and longevity are the primary drivers of decarbonization, as operational emissions typically dominate the total life-cycle impact. The authors recommend greater transparency in LCA data, the development of a regionalized national life-cycle inventory for Canada, and a balanced policy approach that incentivizes decarbonization across all material manufacturing sectors rather than favoring one material over others.

The report argues that current technologies are insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement's 1.5˚C limit for the steel and cement industries. While efficiency gains and energy supply decarbonisation could reduce emissions by 30%–50% below current trends by 2050, further reductions will require innovative low-carbon technologies, product substitutions, circular production, and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

International researchers advocate for the strengthening of the EU ETS post-2020, emphasizing the need to address structural surpluses and ensure a full carbon price pass-through for basic materials like steel and cement to drive innovation and global policy alignment.

The report argues that achieving the EU's 2050 climate targets requires a broad portfolio of innovative production processes, material substitution, and efficiency gains. It proposes an integrated policy approach combining EU ETS reform—specifically the 'inclusion of consumption' to ensure carbon price pass-through—with public procurement and targeted innovation support, such as carbon contracts for differences, to overcome investment risks and the 'technology valley of death'.