LONDON, Sept 19 (Askume) – Weak demand for green products could hamper up to $700 billion of low-carbon projects in heavy-emissions sectors such as aluminium, steel and cement, reducing the investment needed this year, under an initiative launched at last year’s U.N. climate summit.
More than 450 large-scale industrial projects around the world are seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in investment to reduce carbon emissions, the Industrial Transformation Accelerator (ITA) said in a statement on Thursday.
The ITA was established at the COP28 summit in Dubai to encourage much-needed investment in green projects.
The report examined six heavy industry sectors – aluminium, cement, chemicals, steel, aviation and shipping – accounting for about 30% of global carbon dioxide emissions, the ITA said.
“To align with the Paris climate goals, a significant number of large-scale projects … will require final investment decisions in the next 2-3 years,” the group said.
But project developers have not yet received specific commitments from buyers of low-carbon products such as green steel and sustainable aviation fuel, and are unable to obtain the necessary financing.
Faustine Delasalle, Executive Director of the ITA Secretariat, said: “The lack of clear, sustained demand for low-carbon products is the biggest barrier to investment. Without market certainty, companies and financiers cannot commit to these projects.”
ITA is active in Brazil and the UAE and is providing targeted support to project developers, the statement said.
