Accelerating Decarbonization through Collaboration and Implementation

This event was one of three high-level thematic sessions of the Climate Ambition Summit at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

The session was held at the ECOSOC Chamber, UN Headquarters, New York from 1600-1515 hrs EDT on 20 September 2023.

Accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuels and scale-up of renewables across the energy and high-emitting sectors is critical to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C.  This requires unprecedented levels of collaboration and coordination across all geographies, jurisdictions and industries, as well as unmatched levels of finance mobilization and technology sharing. The decarbonization segment of the Climate Ambition Summit addressed three interlinked issues critical to advancing the green transition:

• Industrial Decarbonization - Approaches to sectoral decarbonization remains fractured and under-resourced. Framed by the latest available science from the International Energy Agency, the discussion set clear expectations for what is required on pathways, regulation/policies, finance and technology.
• Super Charging Global Battery Storage Deployment - Battery storage is critical for integrating large quantities of renewables into modern power grids, improving their flexibility and resilience and providing reliable and cheaper electricity to off-grid communities. To fully realize these benefits, more ambitious and urgent actions that remove roadblocks to knowledge sharing and technological transfer are essential. This session demonstrated that the consolidation of existing initiatives through unprecedented levels of coordination can deliver the interventions needed at pace and scale. It brought together stakeholders to discuss and agree on priority intervention areas for the large-scale deployment of battery storage globally, raise the ambition and galvanize existing efforts to supercharge that technology.
• Critical Energy Transition Minerals - The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy depends on the availability and steady flow of critical minerals. While there is a proliferation of regional, national, and industry-led initiatives on how to address supply chain challenges, there is still no overarching intergovernmental framework to address global sourcing, production and trade of critical minerals and coordinate policy. This session mobilized political support to build trust between producers and consumers of critical energy transition mineral supply chains, as well as launched an inclusive process under the leadership of the UN Secretary General to develop a set of guiding voluntary principles and partnerships on critical energy transition minerals. A representative from the UN Environment Programme will be taking part in this segment.

This was a moderated 75-minute meeting consisting of high-level representatives from UN entities, governments, public and private financiers, private sector, development partners, and civil society organizations, including youth and indigenous groups.

Further information

1. More on the Climate Ambition Summit

2. 78th session of the UN General Assembly

3. UNEP's work on Climate Action