The Breakthrough Agenda Report 2025
Clean energy is scaling fast—low‑emissions sources passed 40% of global electricity in 2024 and investment is set to reach around USD 2.2 trillion in 2025—but progress remains uneven. The Breakthrough Agenda 2025 report sets a practical path: coordinated action across power, hydrogen, road transport, steel, concrete and cement, buildings and fertilisers, guided by sector “success statements” that define and measure results.
Discover how collaboration can align standards, aggregate demand, mobilise finance and diversify supply chains to cut emissions and grow economies.
Summary
The power sector has seen significant year-on-year progress in renewables deployment, constraining increases in fossil-fired generation as growth in emissions shows signs of slowing down. Business leaders are optimistic about the pace of the transition, but more efforts will be needed to meet the COP 28 goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Across the global fleet, CO₂ emissions per km driven have slightly fallen since 2020, thanks to increasingly stringent fuel economy standards and record-breaking electric vehicle (EV) sales. Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) displaced about 1.3 million barrels of oil in 2024, nearly equivalent to the total road oil consumption of Brazil. Despite this, overall CO₂ emissions have stagnated as vehicle ownership has grown, and ZEV uptake remains highly uneven across regions. Business sentiment was mixed in 2024, reflecting these trends. Stronger international collaboration on technology deployment, policy alignment, and investment, particularly to support emerging economies, will be essential to accelerate cost reductions and ensure a globally co-ordinated transition
The steel sector is not on track to meet net zero by 2050. Despite the first near-zero emissions plants being due to come online in 2026, progress has stalled, with projects struggling to reach final investment decisions and over 10 Mt of capacity being delayed this year. In the business community, fewer leaders are confident (7%) the sector will reach the 2030 Breakthrough Agenda goal than in 2024 (20%). Most projects are only near-zero emissions capable, and lack firm technology details and timelines. Greater collaboration is required to strengthen enabling conditions, policy support, and demand signals to overcome deployment barriers.
The deployment of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen1 and reduction in the production and use of hydrogen from unabated fossil fuels is significantly behind where it needs to be to get on track with the IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE Scenario), despite significant progress achieved in the last few years in this nascent sector. This outlook is reflected in the business community, where leaders report a deceleration in the pace of transition.
The fertiliser sector’s global emissions have held steady over the past decade. With demand set to increase, a significant shift in fertiliser production, composition and use will be needed to align with net zero emissions by 2050. In 2024, low-emissions ammonia (ammonia being the form of nitrogen used in synthetic fertilisers) represented less than 2% of global production.
Buildings generate more than one-third of global energy use and emissions, making them central to net zero and resilience objectives. Yet the sector is lagging behind: floor space is growing faster than efficiency, cooling demand is rising in hot regions, and most buildings in areas with cold climates – many heated by fossil fuels today – will still be standing in 2050. Encouragingly, business leaders report seeing a small increase in the pace of transition
The cement sector is not on track for net zero by 2050. A key milestone was achieved this year when the first commercial cement facility with carbon capture and storage (CCS) came online, thanks to collaborative efforts. Business leaders noted a slight increase in the pace of the transition , although confidence in the sector’s ability to meet the Breakthrough Agenda goal has declined. The project pipeline for near-zero emissions cement still falls short of the scale needed, with regional gaps. Greater collaboration can help strengthen enabling conditions, demand signals and finance, in order to bridge this deployment gap
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