Experts stress collaborative approach to deal with challenges in decarbonisation of heavy industries

Fundamental changes, including road mapping, technical as well as economic intervention, are crucial to decarbonise the cement industry in India which is one of the major emitters of greenhouse gases, experts have said. At a three-day online workshop, jointly organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), LeadIT Secretariat and the Strategic Partnership for the Implementation of Paris Agreement (SPIPA), they called for "better partnerships between governments and industries and research institutions" to deal with challenges in decarbonisation of heavy industries, the organisers said in a statement.

The Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), launched by Sweden and India at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York in 2019, along with local partner TERI, is working towards preparing a sectoral roadmap for the cement and steel sector by facilitating dialogues as well as technical and methodological guidance.

"The Indian industry has made important progress in reducing energy emissions but to attain (long) term sustainable growth more fundamental changes are required," a statement quoted TERI director general Vibha Dhawan as having said.

Somya Joshi, Head of Global Agendas, Climate & Systems Division, in her presentation, emphasized industry roadmap planners are crucial for knowledge sharing, adopting a structural approach to setting and achieving targets, as well as avoiding bottlenecks.

"Ambitious targets are often put in place, but it is important to plug the gap between rhetoric and reality," she said.

While Klas Molin, Swedish Ambassador to India, said that Sweden would be happy to team up with India in an area that he said is vital for "our very survival"; Mans Nilsson, executive director, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), asserted on the need of "better partnerships between governments and industries and research institutions" for decarbonisation of heavy industries such as cement, steel and petro-chemicals.

"We need better partnerships between governments and industries and research institutions. We need a better framework for these collaborations; if we do not have a roadmap, the measures will not be coherent," said Nilsson.