Breakthrough Agenda Report 2023

The 2023 edition of the Breakthrough Agenda Report, an annual collaboration between the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions, examines the advances made and actions needed to deliver the Breakthrough Agenda - a clean technology commitment signed by 48 countries at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. The annual process aims to align actions by countries to reduce emissions, scale up investment and drive down clean technology costs across key sectors: power; road transport; steel; hydrogen; agriculture; and, for the first time in 2023, buildings and cement. Collectively, these seven sectors account for more than 60% of global GHG emissions.

This second edition of the report shows that current efforts on clean energy and sustainable solutions are not delivering the levels of investment and deployment required to meet international climate goals; and calls on governments to strengthen collaboration in key areas – such as standards and regulation, financial and technical assistance and market creation – to turbocharge the transition.

By providing a practical roadmap for more effective international collaboration, the report sets out a series of recommendations for each sector to help reduce emissions over the next decade and stave off the worst effects of climate change. The guidance spans finance, research and development, demand-side adoption, supporting infrastructure and public engagement. Shared commitments to net zero emission targets across the seven sectors will help direct investment and accelerate cost reductions in clean energy technologies, according to the report. Moreover, co-ordinated deployment, facilitated by international collaboration, can help create the economies of scale required to bring down the price of crucial clean energy technologies and sustainable agriculture solutions.