Policy paper

COP26 World Leaders Summit – Statement on the Breakthrough Agenda

Updated 14 January 2022

Statement on the Breakthrough Agenda

Today, at COP26 in Glasgow, the countries listed below launched the Breakthrough Agenda – a commitment to work together internationally this decade to accelerate the development and deployment of the clean technologies and sustainable solutions needed to meet our Paris Agreement goals, ensuring they are affordable and accessible for all.

The 2020s must be a decade of delivery across all major emitting sectors. While we acknowledge our different national circumstances, we will endeavour to work together in each sector, including through public-private collaboration and by mobilising finance at scale, to make the global transition to a clean economy faster, lower cost and easier for all, while making solutions to adaptation more affordable and inclusive.

This is essential to meeting the Paris Agreement goals, including holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, noting that the science shows further acceleration of efforts is needed if we are to collectively keep 1.5°C within reach, which will prevent the worst effects of climate change, especially for the most vulnerable countries.

The benefits of this Agenda go beyond tackling climate change alone. Our ambition is to catalyse the growth of markets, jobs and economic development globally for clean technologies and sustainable solutions, support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, strengthen the climate resilience of our societies and realise multiple cobenefits such as cleaner air, water and better health.

As a first step under this Agenda, we are launching the Glasgow Breakthroughs – global goals that aim to make clean technologies and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in each emitting sector globally before 2030.

We intend to discuss this Agenda in the future at relevant leader level events and consider how it could further support global efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. To support this intention, starting in 2022, we invite responsible Ministers to review global progress, including at Mission Innovation and Clean Energy Ministerial meetings, informed by an annual report, led by the International Energy Agency, working in collaboration with IRENA, the United Nations High Level Climate Action Champions, and other institutions, bodies and industry leaders as appropriate.

We invite all other States to join the Breakthrough Agenda.

Endorsed by:

1. Australia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Belgium
4. Canada
5. Cabo Verde
6. Chile
7. China
8. Denmark
9. Egypt
10. European Union
11. Finland
12. France
13. Germany
14. Guinea Bissau
15. Holy See
16. India
17. Ireland
18. Israel
19. Italy
20. Japan
21. Kenya
22. Latvia
23. Lithuania
24. Luxembourg
25. North Macedonia
26. Norway
27. Malta
28. Mauritania
29. Morocco
30. Namibia
31. Netherlands
32. New Zealand
33. Nigeria
34. Panama
35. Portugal
36. Republic of Korea
37. Senegal
38. Serbia
39. Slovakia
40. Spain
41. Sweden
42. Turkey
43. United Arab Emirates
44. United Kingdom
45. United States of America

The Glasgow Breakthroughs

Power

Breakthrough: Clean power is the most affordable and reliable option for all countries to meet their power needs efficiently by 2030.

Global metrics: We invite the IEA, working in collaboration with IRENA and the United Nations High Level Climate Action Champions, and other institutions, bodies and industry leaders, to lead an assessment of global progress towards this breakthrough, including reporting on evidence of the following:

1. Annual capacity additions of clean energy (on grid and distributed), including as a share of global total electricity generation.
2. Investments in both the research, development and demonstration and deployment of clean power, enabling technology, and grids, including as a share of total power investment globally.
3. Evidence that power systems can integrate very high levels of variable renewable energy (including up to 100%) in different geographies and climates whilst maintaining a cost-efficient, secure and resilient system.
4. Rate of annual energy efficiency improvement (including for key products sold globally).
5. Relative cost, affordability and accessibility of clean power technologies (compared to alternatives).

Leading initiatives for international collaboration: As well as working through relevant international institutions and region-specific initiatives, we note the importance of the following global initiatives to making progress towards and coordinating activities towards this breakthrough goal:

• Breakthrough Energy Catalyst
• C40 Cities’ Clean Energy Network
• Clean Energy Ministerial’s Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative
• Climate Group’s EP100
• RE100, led by Climate Group in partnership with CDP
• Efficiency for Access Coalition
• Energy Transition Council
• First Movers Coalition
• Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy ^{[footnote 1]}
• Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
• Global Power System Transformation Consortium
• Green Grids initiative - One Sun, One World, One Grid
• International Smart Grid Action Network
• Mission Innovation Green Powered Future Mission
• Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) ^{[footnote 2]}

We invite all relevant international initiatives to align with this breakthrough.

Participants:

1. Australia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Belgium
4. Canada
5. Chile
6. Denmark
7. Egypt
8. European Union
9. Finland
10. France
11. Germany
12. Guinea Bissau
13. Holy See
14. India
15. Ireland
16. Israel
17. Italy
18. Japan
19. Kenya
20. Lithuania
21. North Macedonia
22. Norway
23. Morocco
24. Namibia
25. Netherlands
26. New Zealand
27. Nigeria
28. Panama
29. Portugal
30. Republic of Korea
31. Serbia
32. Slovakia
33. Spain
34. Sweden
35. United Kingdom
36. United States of America

Road Transport

Breakthrough: Zero emission vehicles are the new normal and accessible, affordable, and sustainable in all regions by 2030.

Global metrics: We invite the IEA, working in collaboration with IRENA and the United Nations High Level Climate Action Champions, and other institutions, bodies and industry leaders, to lead an assessment of global progress towards this breakthrough, including reporting on evidence of the following:

1. Share of new light- and heavy-duty vehicle sales that are zero emission.
2. Amount of available recharging infrastructure for zero emission vehicles.
3. Investments in both the research, development and demonstration and the deployment of zero emission vehicles and of key components such as batteries.
4. Relative cost, affordability and accessibility of zero emission vehicles and of key components such as batteries (compared to alternatives).

Leading initiatives for international collaboration: As well as working through relevant international institutions and region-specific initiatives, we note the importance of the following global initiatives to making progress towards and coordinating activities towards this breakthrough goal:

• Clean Energy Ministerial’s Electric Vehicle Initiative
• Climate Group’s EV100 and Route Zero
• First Movers Coalition
• Transport Decarbonisation Alliance
• Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council

We invite all relevant international initiatives to align with this breakthrough.

Participants:

1. Australia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Belgium
4. Canada
5. Denmark
6. Egypt
7. European Union
8. Finland
9. France
10. Germany
11. Guinea Bissau
12. Holy See
13. India
14. Ireland
15. Israel
16. Japan
17. Latvia
18. Lithuania
19. Luxembourg
20. Norway
21. Malta
22. Morocco
23. Namibia
24. Netherlands
25. New Zealand
26. Panama
27. Portugal
28. Republic of Korea
29. Serbia
30. Sweden
31. Turkey
32. United Kingdom
33. United States of America

Steel

Breakthrough: Near-zero emission steel is the preferred choice in global markets, with efficient use and near-zero emission steel production established and growing in every region by 2030.

Global metrics: We invite the IEA, working in collaboration with IRENA and the United Nations High Level Climate Action Champions, and other institutions, bodies and industry leaders, to lead an assessment of global progress towards this breakthrough, including reporting on evidence of the following:

1. Number of near-zero emission steel plants in operation and under development, and total global near-zero emission steel production capacity.
2. Share of global steel production covered by near zero emission steel standards.
3. Investments in both the research, development and demonstration and deployment of near zero emissions steel technologies.
4. Relative cost, affordability and accessibility of near-zero emission steel and relevant technologies (compared to alternatives).

Leading initiatives for international collaboration: As well as working through relevant international institutions and region-specific initiatives, we note the importance of the following global initiatives to making progress towards and coordinating activities towards this breakthrough goal:

• Clean Energy Ministerial’s Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative
• Climate Group’s SteelZero
• First Movers Coalition
• Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT)
• Mission Innovation Industry Mission
• Mission Possible Partnership’s Net-Zero Steel Initiative
• Responsible Steel

We invite all relevant international initiatives to align with this breakthrough.

Participants:

1. Australia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Belgium
4. Canada
5. Denmark
6. Egypt
7. European Union
8. Finland
9. France
10. Germany
11. Guinea Bissau
12. Holy See
13. India
14. Ireland
15. Israel
16. Japan
17. Lithuania
18. Luxembourg
19. Norway
20. Morocco
21. Namibia
22. New Zealand
23. Portugal
24. Republic of Korea
25. Slovakia
26. Spain
27. Sweden
28. Turkey
29. United Kingdom
30. United States of America

Hydrogen

Breakthrough: Affordable renewable and low carbon hydrogen is globally available by 2030.

Global Metrics: We invite the IEA, working in collaboration with IRENA and the United Nations High Level Climate Action Champions, and other institutions, bodies and industry leaders, to lead an assessment of global progress towards this breakthrough, including reporting on evidence of the following:

1. Production cost, and cost at point of supply, of renewable and low carbon hydrogen (and affordability and accessibility compared to alternatives).
2. Volume of renewable and low carbon hydrogen production globally.
3. Greenhouse gas abatement, across the full value chain, from the production and take-up of renewable and low carbon hydrogen.
4. Investments in the research, development and demonstration and deployment, of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen technologies.

Leading initiatives for international collaboration: As well as working through relevant. international institutions and region-specific initiatives, we note the importance of the following global initiatives to making progress towards and coordinating activities towards this breakthrough goal:

• Breakthrough Energy Catalyst
• Clean Energy Ministerial’s Hydrogen initiative
• First Movers Coalition
• Green Hydrogen Catapult
• Hydrogen Council
• Hydrogen Energy Ministerial
• International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy
• Mission Innovation Clean Hydrogen Mission

We invite all relevant international initiatives to align with this breakthrough.

Participants:

1. Australia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Belgium
4. Canada
5. Chile
6. China
7. Denmark
8. Egypt
9. European Union
10. Finland
11. France
12. Germany
13. Guinea Bissau
14. Holy See
15. India
16. Ireland
17. Israel
18. Italy
19. Japan
20. Kenya
21. Lithuania
22. Norway
23. Mauritania
24. Morocco
25. Namibia
26. Netherlands
27. New Zealand
28. Panama
29. Portugal
30. Republic of Korea
31. Serbia
32. Slovakia
33. Spain
34. Sweden
35. United Kingdom
36. United States of America

1. Proposed - subject to agreement of countries ↩

2. Proposed - subject to agreement of countries ↩