U.S. joins LeadIT.

23 April 2021

Written by Andrea Lindblom

The United States has joined the Leadership Group for Industry Transition – a move welcomed by Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had launched the initiative at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019.

The Biden administration said in a tweet that joining LeadIT was “an effort to promote low carbon pathways on the road to net-zero emissions for industry. Working together we can build momentum for industry transition to address the climate crisis.”

The US administration further stressed the “enormous new economic opportunities” in building the industries of the future, listing the LeadIT membership as one of the measures taken “to build the future we want” in a factsheet issued for President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate.

Prime Minister Löfven said he was seeing forward to working with the US and the other countries and companies gathered in LeadIT to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement by working towards heavy industry becoming  fossil-free reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

The US’ joining LeadIT – an initiative that was “taking the lead in heavy industry transition” – would “help us meet Paris Agreement goals, strengthen competitiveness and create new jobs.”

https://twitter.com/SwedishPM/status/1385533406491156484

Adding to political momentum

The United States is among the largest producers of chemicals, the third largest producer of cement, the fourth largest producer of steel, and the ninth largest producer of aluminum.

“This adds to the political momentum for industry decarbonization, because the US is such a big industrial player,” said Gökce Mete, Head of the LeadIT Secretariat. “But it’s not only the size of the market, it’s also the US’ track record in innovation and financial muscle that will enrich the public-private collaboration and knowledge-sharing that is central to LeadIT.” 

“We are excited to have the United States on board in LeadIT and look forward to working together in the group.” 

“The political leadership represented by the US joining LeadIT is essential for us to achieve the level of systemic change required to deliver a net zero industry transition by 2050 at the latest,” said Anthony Hobley of the Mission Possible Platform and World Economic Forum, who is a member of LeadIT’s Management Board.

“A public private partnership will underpin the breakthroughs required to deliver systemic tipping points that will drive the decarbonisation of heavy industry and transport at the speed and scale necessary,” Hobley added. “The Mission Possible Partnership is excited to work with LeadIT and its governments now including the US to help facilitate just such a partnership between the public and private sectors.”

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