Everything you need to know about the Race to Zero Dialogues

Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.

Net-zero commitments from businesses, investors, cities and regions now cover more than half the world’s GDP. The COVID-19 recovery will require a new growth and innovation agenda for societies to rebuild in line with climate commitments.

As part of the Race to Zero Dialogues, the World Economic Forum is hosting a three-day event to spur greater climate action on industry, transport and ocean.

From the clothes we wear to the buildings we live in, consumer goods and heavy industry are fuelling climate change. Businesses need to lead the transition to net-zero emissions while ensuring good jobs and social equity.

Responsible for nearly a third of global energy CO2 emissions, which are expected to double under business-as-usual scenarios, heavy industry (cement, steel and chemicals) and heavy-duty transport (heavy-duty road transport, shipping and aviation) have a vital role to play in halting global average temperature rise. These sectors are referred to as “hard-to-abate” because the costs of cutting emissions are high and progress to reduce emissions has been slow so far.

However, it is technically and economically possible for hard-to-abate industrial sectors to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at a cost to the economy of less than 0.5% of global GDP and with minor impact on consumer living standards. The Mission Possible Platform will support public and private sector partners working on the industry transition towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

As the world recovers from the COVID-19 crisis, global emissions from aviation, shipping and road transport emissions are at historic lows. This is the moment to reset, focus on innovation and accelerate the shift to sustainable and resilient modes of transport.

International shipping emits 2-3% of global GHG emissions, transporting close to 90% of global trade by volume. Accelerating the Race to Zero-Emission Shipping will bring together shipping value chain leaders to discuss the actions needed in the next five years to accelerate and ensure a successful transition to zero-emission shipping by 2050.

With air travel predicted to double by 2035, the aviation sector could represent a significantly higher share of GHG emissions by 2050 compared to its 2-3% share today. Building a Path to Net-Zero Aviation will focus on the role of aviation in society and the economy and answer some of the questions on people’s mind in this COVID era, such as, is it possible to fly sustainably? If so, how can it be achieved?

Emissions from heavy road transport are set to grow from about 2.5 gigatons (Gt) to 4.6 Gt CO2e and the trucking industry could account for 10% of global GHG by mid-century. Trucking value chain leaders will discuss actions needed to accelerate the viability and deployment of long-haul zero-emissions fleets and transformative pathways for infrastructure by 2030 in Fast Forwarding the Race to Zero-Emission Trucking.

The ocean sustains food security, local livelihoods, global supply chains and the stability of the climate. However, rising sea levels, increasing water temperatures and extreme weather events are the first warning signs of accelerating climate change.

Sessions will discuss how the ocean can provide solutions to protect coastal communities, store greenhouse gases and shore up infrastructure.

You can follow the event and watch all live-streamed sessions here. If you miss a session, you’ll be able to watch it back via our YouTube channel.

We encourage you to post, share and retweet by tagging our accounts and by using our official hashtag: #RacetoZero.

For more ways to follow the dialogues and to get involved, read our full guide.