Supporting the development of policies
Private-public partnerships, international collaborative initiatives, associations, clusters, and alliances all work in different ways to accelerate specific goals, drive action along value chains, and strengthen dialogue in support of policy frameworks. However, some of these collaborative structures have been established with the intention of influencing policy development. They represent emerging players in the increasingly complex landscape of multi-actor, multi-level governance within this policy domain. Additionally, they provide strategic decision-making support and lay the groundwork for ongoing public-private dialogue aimed at concrete objectives.
The development and scaling of technological solutions for achieving net-zero emissions rely heavily on favorable policy environments, ranging from financial incentives to demand-side regulations.
Success in the transition to carbon neutrality depends on the coordinated engagement of all relevant actors. However, instead of ensuring the predictable deployment of existing green technologies and investments in research and innovation, industry-wide efforts remain fragmented. Over the next decade, organized and well-supported alliances—bringing together industrial partners along with public and social stakeholders—will be key in driving progress. In this regard, I see two areas facing significant synergistic gaps: circularity and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
What technical approaches exist already aiming for net zero?
New processes innovation
From all the possible technical approaches existing already, electrification and hydrogen are leading the way due to strong targets and strategies, aligned industry agenda and public acceptance. In this case, synergies are well stablished and starting to pave the road.
With regards to circularity, instead, despite clear trends and collaboration initiatives towards recycling, dedicated funding opportunities are yet to be improved and policies for mechanical and chemical recycling are still to be fully developed.
Additionally, there is an urgent need to create a Low-Carbon industries Alliance, specifically for the sake of CCUS technologies. A more radical recommendation would be to present the CCUS technologies as a theme worth its own Alliance given its potential, which may constitute an additional dimension to the concept of a circular economy. In resemblance to clean hydrogen, the potential for CCUS technologies lies on their wider impact, as several industries will benefit in their decarbonisation pathways from their development, in sectors like energy and the energy intensive ones. The projects are already presented but high-level coordination is lacking. There is clearly a gap, when comparing to hydrogen, in who is going to lead the way fostering the dialogue and making the number of initiatives become a success story.
