However, progress remains far behind the pace to meet net-zero targets. The report finds that an additional $30 trillion in investments is required by 2050—underscoring the scale of the challenge ahead. This includes $13 trillion of direct funding from the industries and $17 trillion from the wider ecosystem such as energy suppliers to these industries.
Nearly half of the required greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions can be achieved with commercially viable technologies already available, as per the new research. The report also found that emissions intensity—the average emissions per production unit—has declined 4.1% over the past five years, highlighting the impact of existing solutions. Intensified cross-sector collaboration, faster deployment of clean-energy infrastructure—in particular renewable electricity—and stronger policymaking will be crucial to advance these efforts and unlock the transformative potential of emerging technologies.
The Net Zero Industry Tracker 2024, produced in collaboration with Accenture, assesses the state of energy transition efforts and the future trajectory of the eight hard-to-abate sectors, which account for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It examines key barriers to meeting net-zero goals and presents actionable pathways to accelerate progress, including a comprehensive readiness framework around related technologies, investment strategies, and policies.
Despite increased output, the combined 0.9% reduction in emissions the eight sectors managed between 2022 and 2023 is a significant improvement compared to the increase of overall emissions globally in the same period. Moreover, while overall demand across the eight hard-to-abate sectors increased at an average of 9.2% between 2019 and 2023, total emissions and emissions intensity declined, showing that emissions reductions have been driven by improved efficiency and decarbonization efforts rather than reduced output. Indeed, five out of the eight hard-to-abate sectors (aluminium, cement, chemicals, aviation and trucking) reduced their emission intensity, driven by factors such as increased use of low-carbon power, reduced coal consumption, greater energy efficiency and more recycled metals.
The report highlights key barriers to reducing emissions in these sectors, including high interest rates, political uncertainties, trade restrictions and limited availability of new clean-energy technologies. Significant investments must also focus on developing infrastructure for low-carbon power, hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization and storage. While infrastructure development for low-carbon power has been encouraging, hydrogen and CCUS infrastructure currently address less than 1% of sector requirements.
New this year, the Tracker highlights the potential of generative AI to accelerate the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors. By enhancing productivity, streamlining operations and optimizing energy use, generative AI could improve capital efficiency by 5-7%, reducing net-zero investment needs by up to $2 trillion. Beyond cost savings, AI offers tools for asset management, R&D acceleration and transparency through product-level carbon reporting. However, the widespread adoption of AI could also significantly increase electricity demand, raising concerns about competition for limited low-carbon energy resources.
In previous editions, the report included ammonia as one of the eight industries. This year, the report has expanded to include a set of primary chemicals (ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes, ammonia and methanol), which together contribute to 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This has also increased the overall volume of emissions being tracked.
