Foz do Iguaçu, October 2024 - Addressing senior policymakers and business leaders at the 15th Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting (CEM) and the 9th Ministerial Meeting of Mission Innovation (MI-9), in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, UNIDO Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director, Ciyong Zou, sent a clear message: “Decarbonizing industries requires significant investments in clean technologies. But current investment levels fall short of driving the transformation at the necessary scale and speed."

Deputy to the Director General continued: "We must work together to drive the ambition and action necessary to unlock financing and leverage private capital for industrial decarbonization”.

From 30 September to 4 October 2024, UNIDO shared its expertise and collaborated with the clean energy community to agree on action-oriented steps to accelerate the energy transition around the world and build momentum ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in November (UNFCCC COP 29).

The high-level forum underscored the vital role of harmonized definitions, emissions accounting methodologies and public and private demand for green construction materials in facilitating the low-carbon transformation of industry and unlocking the needed investment.

Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director Zou called on governments to commit to procuring low- or near-zero-emission steel and cement for public construction projects by signing up to the  Green Public Procurement Pledge of the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI), a UNIDO-led initiative of the CEM.

This year, the CEM-MI meetings and side events were held in Brazil alongside the 4th G20 Energy Transition Working Group Meeting and the G20 Energy Transition Ministerial Meeting.

UNIDO is working closely with Brazil, an IDDI member, to advance the energy transition and drive the decarbonization agenda. UNIDO hosts the UK-Brazil Industry Decarbonization and Hydrogen Hubs, which aim to increase investment and accelerate the commercialization of clean energy technologies in Brazil. During the CEM-MI, the UK-Brazil Partnership launched a call for Brazilian low emission industrial-hydrogen clusters, in coordination with UNIDO.

On the sidelines of the CEM-MI, Zou met with dignitaries and officials.  During his meeting with Secretary Kerry McCarthy of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, UNIDO's role as a center of gravity for industrial decarbonization was recognized and the growing collaboration on advancing industry decarbonization and green hydrogen.

Another example is the GEF Biogas Brazil project, led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil (MCTI), implemented by UNIDO, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and with CIBiogás as the main executing entity.

In partnership with MCTI and CIBiogás, the project organized a CEM-MI side event with two panels dedicated to biofuels. The event explored the links between Brazil’s national decarbonization agenda, the immense biogas potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable waste management in the country, and the pathways to strengthen international cooperation in this value chain.

“This side event, which was very well received with high-level participation, here, in Foz do Iguaçu, underscored the distinguished nature of the CEM forum dedicated to promoting the development of clean energy technologies and facilitating the shift towards a global clean energy economy. Additionally, a transformative new project was announced as a follow-up to the GEF Biogas Brazil project, focusing on the development of Carbon-Negative Organo-Mineral Fertilizers in the country", said UNIDO Country Representative in Brazil, Clovis Zapata.

UNIDO’s Chief of the Energy and Climate Action Division, Rana Ghoneim, highlighted the multi-faceted benefits of biogas, stressing its crucial role in Brazil’s decarbonization efforts and broader economic development:

“Biogas is a very important decarbonization lever for Brazil’s economy. It is a very abundant resource that we can utilize to generate more energy to support industrial development. Investing in research and innovation will support the localization of technologies related to biogas and grow green jobs in the sector.”

For more information, outcomes and announcements of the 14th CEM-MI, see here .

For more information and outcomes of the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting, see here.

For further information, please contact:

Riccardo Savigliano,

Chief of the Energy Systems and Industrial Decarbonization Unit at UNIDO 

Email