Launch of Global Matchmaking Platform to accelerate technical and financial assistance for industrial decarbonization in emerging and developing economies
Baku, 15 November 2024
Today at COP29, UNIDO and the Climate Club launched the Global Matchmaking Platform for industrial decarbonization (GMP), announced at COP28 is a unique initiative dedicated to accelerating decarbonization in heavy-emitting industries in the presence of key donor and partner organizations. It is supported with initial funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Climate Action (BMWK).
As the only platform of its kind focused specifically on decarbonizing industrial sectors, it is open to all emerging markets and developing economies. It connects country-specific needs with global technical and financial assistance to reduce emissions in energy and emissions-intensive industrial sectors. It is now welcoming formal application requests from countries for projects and programmes and expressions of interest from institutions and donors to join as network partners.
The Global Matchmaking Platform connects countries with a network of delivery partners, offering comprehensive technical and financial support for industrial decarbonization efforts. These partners assist nations in key areas such as policy development, the transfer of innovative technologies, and facilitating investments to drive the transition to zero and low-emission industrial practices including assistance for enhancing the emissions goals. This mechanism allows countries to tailor their decarbonization pathways while streamlining access to guidance and resources provided by partner organizations to achieve deep emissions reductions.
The GMP’s matchmaking process ensures that each country receives tailored support for its unique needs, with pilot project discussions already underway in countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, and Cambodia, among others. In addition, delivery partners including Climate Investment Funds, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), UNIDO and the World Bank have already committed their expertise, further strengthening cooperation between governments, international organizations, and the private sector to make industrial decarbonization more efficient and impactful.
The Global Matchmaking Platform for industry decarbonization is a support mechanism of the Climate Club, with the secretariat hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Its activities are also supported by the Climate Club interim Secretariat jointly hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
With this launch, the Global Matchmaking Platform has now started receiving formal expressions of interest from governments for project and programme support for industry decarbonisation. Going forward, the Platform will focus on strengthening donor engagement and expanding the network of delivery partners. Active support from stakeholders will enable broader offerings, ensuring that industrial decarbonisation efforts in emerging and developing economies are equipped with the financial and technical resources needed. Countries interested in receiving support, as well as organisations and institutions wishing to join the Platform’s network to provide technical or financial assistance, are encouraged to engage by reaching out to the GMP Secretariat.
H.E. Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President said: “At COP29, we are focused on enhancing ambition and enabling action on the greatest challenge facing the global community, climate change. The Global Matchmaking Programme for industrial decarbonisation, launched at COP29 by the UNIDO and Climate Club, will support the decarbonisation of some of the heaviest emitting industries. Promoting the green energy transition is a key priority for the COP29 Presidency and the Global Matchmaking Programme will play an important role in helping us to meet our collective climate goals.”
Germany, as a co-lead of the Climate Club during its launch, had announced the Global Matchmaking Platform to bridge the gap between high-emitting industries and international expertise. Speaking at COP28, Robert Habeck Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in Germany said: “The transformation to net zero societies will only be possible and economically viable if we are able to develop competitive solutions for net-zero industrial processes. German companies have understood that economic success will only be sustainable with ambitious strategies to decarbonise production processes.”
Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said: “The launch of Global Matchmaking platform will be pivotal in enhanced Global North-South collaboration in access to finance, capacity building and technology transfer is essential in translating our roadmap towards green industrialization with the philosophy of the three zeros. Bangladesh reiterates its commitment to attaining Sustainable Development Goals and underscores that the green transition is inclusive, sustainable and equitable.”
Maisa Rojas Corradi, Minister of Environment, Chile said: „The urgency of addressing climate change forces us to advance on many fronts, including decarbonizing “hard to abate sectors” such as the industrial sector. The Global Matchmaking Platform is an innovative initiative to allow these efforts to be equipped with financial and technical resources. We invite all members of the Climate Club, as well as other developing countries that share the vision of industry decarbonization, to participate in this platform and access to the network of support providers.“
Elisa Facio, Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Uruguay said: “International cooperation has allowed Uruguay to push forward strong public policies and today we can speak about our second energy transition: Industry and transport decarbonization as well as green hydrogen production. This meeting represents a step forward in our joint search for innovative solutions to global energy challenges to continue to decarbonize our entire energy matrix, particularly in industrial sectors, where fossil fuel dependence remains.”
Gerd Müller, UNIDO Director General said: „Industrialized countries have a responsibility to assist with the decarbonization of heavy industries in developing countries. The countries of the Global South must have access to low-carbon technologies to drive their development. I congratulate Germany and the Climate Club for their leadership and for launching our joint Global Matchmaking Platform. Together we will support emerging and developing countries to access funding and technical support to decarbonize industries and accelerate low-emission development. I urge all countries, development partners, donors and the private sector to engage with the Global Matchmaking Platform to drive global climate action.”
Muhammet Kasim Gönüllü, Deputy Minister for Industry and Technology, Türkiye said: “The Global Matchmaking Platform (GMP) is poised to revolutionize industrial decarbonization in emerging markets by aligning international cooperation, finance, and technology to fast-track a low-carbon future. As the cornerstone of the Climate Club, GMP ensures emerging market and developing economies can embrace cleaner technologies without sacrificing their economic growth, driving the world closer to net-zero by 2050.”
Tariye Gbadegesin, Climate Investment Funds Chief Executive Officer said: „Industry will be one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize, with demand for industrial products rising and many promising low-carbon technologies still in their infancy. This is where climate finance can be a game-changer, helping fast-growing economies to pilot and scale up cutting-edge solutions and shift their expanding industrial sectors to a net-zero, climate-resilient pathway. CIF is proud to be part of the new Global Matchmaking Platform, designed to more easily link developing countries to critical sources of finance and assistance.“
Demetrios Papathanasiou, Global Director of Energy and Extractives, World Bank said: “The Global Matchmaking Platform (GMP) under the Climate Club is critical to accelerate collaboration on industrial decarbonization. As the first Delivery Partner to join the GMP partnership, the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) will provide countries technical assistance and innovative financing to boost investments in hard-to-abate industrial sectors. We are grateful to the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for their support to ESMAP.”
For more information regarding the event, please contact:
Walker Darke
Communications Lead, UNIDO
Note to Editors
Heavy-emitting sectors, particularly steel and cement, contribute a significant share of global emissions. A report by the Climate Club, a high-level forum of 44 countries, highlighted the substantial shortfall in technical and financial assistance needed to achieve a 90% reduction in industrial emissions by 2050 to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals. For emerging and developing economies, this challenge is especially pronounced, as industrial growth remains crucial to their economic development.
UNIDO’s Global Matchmaking Platform is part of a broader program of industrial decarbonization initiatives, including the Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI), which stimulates demand for low-carbon industrial materials, and the Net-Zero Partnership for Industrial Decarbonisation (NZP-ID), which provides technical assistance to developing countries for decarbonizing heavy-emitting sectors. Through its NDCs 3.0 toolkit, it supports integrating industry into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, ahead of the 2025 updates.
About Climate Club
The Climate Club is an open and inclusive high-ambition intergovernmental forum for cooperation on accelerating industry decarbonisation. The Interim Secretariat of the Climate Club is co-hosted by the OECD and the IEA
