COP29: UNIDO Promotes Green Industry for Climate Goals

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) convened high-level representatives for the event “Transforming industry for the climate resilient 1.5°C pathways” during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29). The gathering highlighted how industrial development can drive positive change, creating a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future.

“At this COP, our focus is clear: decarbonizing industry to meet the 1.5°C target and helping countries navigate the transition toward greener, more climate-resilient economies. Our approach is built around practical solutions. By promoting green innovations in energy, materials, and production processes, we empower industries to adopt practices that reduce emissions and strengthen resilience,” said Ciyong Zou, UNIDO Deputy to the Director General and Managing Director of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development. He added that UNIDO’s partnerships for technology transfer ensure that all nations, regardless of economic status, have the tools needed to make climate-smart decisions, and enhancing access to climate finance, especially for developing economies, remains a priority to support these changes on a global scale.

The event focused on the UNIDO Climate Change Strategy and its action plan for 2025–2029, currently being developed in consultation with Member States. This action plan will guide the organization’s efforts to realize the Strategy’s Vision 2050: a world free from poverty and hunger, where industry leads the way in fostering low-emission economies, improving living standards, and safeguarding the environment for both current and future generations, ensuring that no one is left behind.

“Egypt is proud to have played a key role in the development and adoption of this strategy, which fully aligns with our vision of sustainable industrial development in harmony with environmental stewardship. Developed through a transparent and collaborative process, this strategy provides a pathway to increase the efficiency and impact of UNIDO’s climate actions, benefiting both people and the planet,” said H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Ibrahim Nasr, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in Vienna.

He noted that a key example of Egypt’s commitment is reflected in their second updated Nationally Determined Contribution, where the country has advanced its renewable energy target to reach 42% installed capacity by 2030, five years earlier than originally planned.

A roundtable discussion, moderated by Karina Larsen, Climate Action Engagement Lead from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), brought together high-level representatives from Member States, UNFCCC, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the private sector, youth activists, and academia.

“The GEF is proud of our growing partnership with UNIDO on climate change, and especially on engagement of the private sector in climate adaptation and resilience. Awesome challenges call for awesome innovation, and industry is increasingly realizing the implications of the climate crisis and the unavoidable opportunities associated with it. Through a growing set of projects funded by GEF and implemented by UNIDO, industries, including financial institutions, and micro, small and medium enterprises, are catalyzing new financing, deploying innovative technologies, and increasing the scale of action to address the climate crisis,” said Jason Spensley, Senior Climate Change Specialist, GEF.

The representatives discussed how UNIDO’s vision can be realized and offered valuable insights into how industries, in collaboration and partnership with diverse stakeholders, can drive effective climate action and resilience, fostering positive economic impacts worldwide along the 1,5°C pathway.