Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-11 (section)

=== Box 11.3 | IN4Cl imate NRW – Initiative for a Climate-friendly Industry in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) ===

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IN4Climate NRW (www.in4climate.nrw) was launched in September 2019 by the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia ( [[#IN4climate.NRW--2019|IN4climate.NRW 2019]] ) as a platform for collaboration between representatives from industry, science and politics. IN4climate.NRW offers a common space to develop innovative strategies for a carbon-neutral industrial sector, bringing together different perspectives and competencies.

North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s industrial heartland. Around 19% of North Rhine-Westphalia’s GHGs have their origin in the industry sector. Consequently, the sector bears a particular responsibility when it comes to climate protection, but the state is also a source of high-quality jobs and export value. The NRW government understands that the state’s current competitive advantage can only be maintained if the regional industry positions itself as a front runner for becoming GHG-neutral.

In working together across different branches (more than 30 companies representing mainly steel, cement, chemical, aluminium industry, refineries and energy utilities) and enabling a direct interaction between industry and government officials, IN4Climate provides a benefit to the participating companies. People from the different areas are working together in so-called innovation teams and underlying working groups with a self-organised process of setting their milestones and working schedule while reflecting long-term needs as well as short-term requirements based on political or societal discussions.

The innovation teams aim to identify and set concrete impulses for development and implementation of breakthrough technologies, specify necessary infrastructures (e.g., for hydrogen production, storage and transport) and appropriate policy settings (i.e., integrated state, national and European policy mix). They also include an attempt to create a discourse between the public and the industry sectors as a kind of sounding board for the early detection of barriers and obstacles.

Box 11.3

The initiative has been successful so far, for example, having developed a clear vision for a hydrogen strategy and an associated policy framework as well as a broader decarbonisation strategy for the whole sector. It is present at the national level as well as at the European level. Being successful and unique, IN4Climate is useful as a blueprint for other regions and is often visited by companies and administration staff from other German states.

It is particularly the so far missing intensive and dedicated cooperation across industrial subsectors that can be seen as a success factor. Facing substantial transformation needs associated with structural changes and infrastructure challenges, very often solutions can’t be provided and realised by a single sector but need cooperation and coordination. Even more, chicken-and-egg problems like the construction of new infrastructures (e.g., for hydrogen and CO 2 disposal) require cooperation and new modes of collaboration. IN4Climate provides the necessary link for this.

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