United Nations Industrial Development Organization —

Y. Li Director General

United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Vienna, Austria

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to join you at today’s conference, which highlights once again the urgent need to take action on climate change.

I would like to thank the International Atomic Energy Agency for inviting me, and I am very pleased to share the experience of UNIDO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

That climate change and sustainable development are the central challenges of our time has become clearer than ever before. This year, we experienced the hottest summer months in the Northern hemisphere. The years 2015 to 2019 were also the five hottest years ever recorded.

Young people around the world are taking to the streets to remind us of the urgency of climate change.

Just over a week ago, I returned from the Climate Action Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General in New York. The Summit once again reminded us that if we continue on our current path, we face at least three degrees Celsius of global heating by the end of the century. This reminder is alarming, given that any temperature rise above 1.5 degrees will lead to major and irreversible damage to the ecosystems of our planet.

From the side of UNIDO, and in the implementation of our mandate of inclusive and sustainable industrial development, we see a very close connection between the central challenges of climate change and sustainable development.

It is clear that both challenges are directly linked and need to be addressed simultaneously and in a cross-sectoral way.

Inclusive and sustainable industrial development must be part of the solution. The positive effects on job creation, income generation, economic growth and social inclusion are evident.

At the same time, industry plays an important role to address the climate challenge through a more sustainable use of resources, in particular through innovative and sustainable energy solutions.

Energy is a great integrator because it cuts across all economic sectors and lies at the heart of the core interests of all communities, industries and countries.

Today, industry accounts for more than a third of global energy consumption and for almost one quarter of the global greenhouse gas emissions. It will also be the sector to drive the growth of global energy demand over the next decades.

It is clear that we need a new energy paradigm that can reconcile economic growth with the sustainability for the benefit of future generations, and that industry must be part of such a paradigm change.

Ladies and gentlemen, the call for action is clear. Countries need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions from industry.

But taking action on climate change still remains a daunting task, in particular due to lack of capacity, limited access to climate finance and suitable climate technologies, and the lack of awareness of the private sector on the need to take action.

The Nationally Determined Contributions that define the respective national reductions in greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change outline solutions to support and realize the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.

These solutions are policies, technologies, best practices and other instruments available to industry, policy-makers and the international community.

The international scientific community has identified that there is a set of proven, market-ready energy technology options that can help us meet the climate goals. However, to achieve progress, it will be necessary to combine these technologies. And we need to support countries in adopting those technologies which are appropriate to their needs.

Given the need to increase awareness, UNIDO disseminates and implements existing best available technologies and practices for sustainable energy globally through knowledge-sharing, capacity building, investments, and partnerships.

I am pleased to note that, over the past decade, progress and innovation in clean energy technologies and industries have been quite impressive. Some emerging countries having shown leadership and long term vision in promoting technology innovation and entrepreneurship development.

However, a large number of countries are still lacking an inclusive and suitable industrial development strategy, the institutional capacity, and financial resources to play an active role in building technology responses to the challenge of climate change.

With different national priorities and socioeconomic constraints, countries require tailored solutions and strategies. So, to achieve the changes required at the necessary speed and scale, we need to intensify cooperation, collaboration, and lesson-sharing of best practices and past failures.

As we all move forward with the global climate change agenda, there is also a need for greater collaboration between public and private stakeholders, including financial institutions.

As the central coordinator of industrial development within the UN system, UNIDO has been among the strongest supporters for a closer engagement of the private sector in all areas of development, and we have witnessed the success of this approach.

The countries that have been more successful in improving the energy efficiency of their industrial sector are those that have also implemented a larger number of cooperative measures between government and industrial associations.

In other words, those countries where government and industry have come together to identify, discuss, negotiate and agree upon a win-win policy and technology solutions were more successful in advancing the sustainable development agenda.

Ladies and gentlemen, now that we have examined the importance of the private sector and particularly industry as part of the new energy paradigm, I would like to focus on three specific action areas.

For the deep decarbonization of industry, countries will have to significantly increase their energy efficiency and to progressively switch from carbon intensive to low carbon and carbon neutral fuels and energy sources.

From the industrial demand perspective, there are three action areas that I would like to highlight today: energy efficiency, innovation, and climate financing.

Energy efficiency is a key technology option to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Approximately 40 per cent of the greenhouse gas emission reductions needed by 2040 could be achieved through efficiency improvements in the supply and end-use of energy.

First, energy management systems are recognized as a best practice to ensure sustainable energy efficiency and continual improvement of industrial performance. UNIDO has spearheaded the development of the international standard ISO 50001. We support over 20 countries in setting up a national programme on energy management in industry.

Second, innovation is an essential part of technological development and of technology adoption. Shifting the energy infrastructure towards low carbon sources needs both local technologies and new local players brought to the market.

UNIDO recognizes that the transformation towards a sustainable future has to be driven by the efforts of innovators, entrepreneurs and of small and medium sized enterprises.

One of the UNIDO flagship programmes in this area, Global Cleantech Innovation, engages directly with the private sector and promotes business models for clean and sustainable energy solutions while accelerating their growth. Over the past eight years, the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme has supported more than 865 companies in eight countries.

Thirdly, mobilizing investment for the energy transition is an indispensable enabler. As an example in this area I would like to mention the Private Financing Advisory Network, PFAN, hosted by UNIDO. This is a global network that identifies investment ready clean energy proposals. It advises companies on their business development and searches for appropriate financiers. The PFAN hosted by UNIDO has been successful in supporting over 110 clean energy projects, thereby leveraging almost $1.5 billion of investment.

Ladies and gentlemen, now that I have given a few examples on how UNIDO supports industries in mitigating their greenhouse gas emission, let me recap by emphasizing the holistic scope of our technical support.

Selecting technologies that increase operational efficiency and fuel consumption have multiple benefits for industry: they reduce costs, mitigate emissions and increase competitiveness.

Adopting and promoting new climate friendly services and technologies requires innovation.

Financing is the enabler that can accelerate the transition.

In addition to their efforts to reduce emissions, many countries also need support in adapting to climate change. From an industrial development perspective, we focus on increasing the resilience of the human environment. We need to consider how to climate-proof power systems and utilities to ensure supply even when climate related disasters would occur. This is particularly important for least developed countries and small island developing States.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by highlighting the importance of partnerships to boost climate change action and help countries meet their Paris Agreement targets.

We need to work together and help Member States deliver on their national designated contributions and on the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

We need commitment, speed and economies of scale in the changing patterns of international production, investment and technological innovation.

I welcome the discussion at this important conference exploring the climate impact and benefits of nuclear technologies. All technological solutions are needed to attain the United Nations climate change targets and Sustainable Development Goals!

I thank you for your attention and wish you a fruitful discussion.

2.2.3. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — Keynote Address