Context: Recently, International Energy Association (IEA) has released “The Breakthrough Agenda report-2022”.

• Aim: To align countries' actions and coordinate investment to scale up deployment and drive down costs across five key sectors - power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.

Breakthrough Agenda

• It was launched at the World Leaders Summit at COP (Conference of the Parties) 26 in Glasgow, Uk.

• In this, 45 signatories (44 countries and European Union), decided to make clean technologies and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in each emitting sector globally before 2030.

Key highlights of the Report

• Strengthening international collaboration to accelerate transitions:

• Global emissions, which must be halved to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C, are still increasing.

• The costs of critical low carbon technologies could be significantly lower in a fast global transition, which can only be achieved by the collective action of many countries.

• Global greenhouse gas emissions have now reached almost 60 GtCO2e and these 5 sectors account for over 50%.

1st set of agendas came up in COP26 last year (also known as Glasgow Breakthroughs) on sectors such as-

• Power ( Clean power is the most affordable and reliable option for all countries to meet their power needs efficiently by 2030.)

• Road ( Zero emission vehicles the new normal – accessible, affordable and sustainable in all regions by 2030.)

• Steel ( Near-zero emission steel is the preferred choice in global markets)

• Hydrogen ( Affordable renewable and low carbon hydrogen globally available by 2030.)

• Agriculture (Climate-smart, sustainable agriculture by 2030)

Recommendations: Putting the world on track to meet the Paris goals

• Countries and businesses should work together in each emitting sector to increase the chances of meeting the Paris Agreement goals, in line with the Breakthrough Agenda commitment.

• In each emitting sector, there needs to be at least one international forum in which actors with strong influence and interests in the sector collaborate to accelerate the global transition

• Technical and financial assistance must be made more available in all sectors.

• In trade-exposed sectors where clean technologies or sustainable solutions are at a cost disadvantage to high emitting technologies or practices, level playing fields in international trade will be needed.

• Coordinated efforts to research, develop and demonstrate technologies can support progress in many sectors.

• Coordinated international deployment of low carbon infrastructure such as electricity interconnectors, hydrogen gas pipelines, and refuelling or recharging facilities for shipping, aviation, and heavy-duty vehicles.