We’re now halfway through a critical decade for climate. Last year was the first year that global average temperatures surpassed the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees. But we know that every fraction of a degree matters when it comes to preventing suffering. We also know that well-designed policy is the key to slashing the emissions fueling climate change—and also can put economies on a sustainable development path that raises standards of living.
Though the task ahead is not without challenges, the Crux Alliance’s experts are uniquely positioned to support the transformation of the appliances, buildings, industry, power, vehicles, and urban mobility sectors.
In 2025, Alliance members have set their sights on the most impactful policy opportunities in the most impactful venues. You’ll find a preview of this 2025 agenda below, and we look forward to reporting on our progress throughout the year.
Joe Ryan
Executive Director
Crux Alliance
The drive for implementation, new global benchmarks, and Global South champions
Appliance efficiency must be prioritized now to achieve net-zero goals, but the sector is falling short, jeopardizing the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In 2025, CLASP will intensify efforts to push for appliance efficiency as a key climate solution.
This year, CLASP is focused on advocating for stringent efficiency targets in national climate plans, deepening collaboration with local partners, and supporting policy implementation. A major opportunity lies in China, where CLASP is supporting world-leading policies for permanent magnet and induction motors that could cut more than 1 billion tons of emissions by 2050. These policies could set a new global benchmark for major types of motors, the highest-emitting appliances globally.
In the lead-up to COP30 in Brazil, CLASP will highlight the need for efficient, affordable cooling solutions in a warming world. Working alongside government partners and civil society, especially Global South champions, CLASP will spotlight key appliances, including air conditioners, refrigerators, and fans, that deliver critical cooling solutions to communities while reducing emissions
Delivering on the promise of low-carbon, healthy housing in Indonesia, India, China, and beyond
Reaching our climate goals requires that the carbon abatement potential of pledged and adopted buildings policies is fully realized through effective implementation. This year, GBPN is prioritizing the implementation of policy reforms with the potential to avoid approximately 1.9 billion tons of carbon by 2030.
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- In Indonesia, GBPN will strengthen its partnership with the incoming national leadership, providing technical expertise to support the implementation of green building regulations, piloting fiscal reforms, and promoting private sector adoption of low-carbon, affordable housing policies.
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- In India, efforts will center on assisting state governments with implementing the Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code and embedding low-carbon and healthy building practices into the National Building Code and affordable housing projects.
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- In China, GBPN will collaborate with partners in Hainan Province to implement ultra-low energy and zero-carbon building regulations.
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- Globally, GBPN is influencing the Buildings Breakthrough agenda, commencing in Africa, where the team is supporting Kenya in developing decarbonization and resilience policies while fostering broader zero-emission commitments across the region.
The buildings sector accounts for 40 percent of energy-related emissions, making it critical to climate action. GBPN will continue driving solutions to cut emissions by half by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2050, while improving health, equity, and housing access in 2025 and beyond.
Government officials at the launch of the National Roadmap for Green Building Implementation in Yogyakarta, October 2024.
Promoting competitive low-carbon industry in Europe, South Korea, China, and Brazil
2025 presents critical opportunities for Agora Industry to help guide regulatory, financial, and technological frameworks into transformative policy amid challenging conditions for industrial decarbonization.
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- Germany’s federal election in February is a key moment to ramp up commitments to electrification and public procurement of low-carbon materials. The new coalition treaty will define Germany’s leadership role in European and global industrial transformation and climate policy.
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- The EU Industrial Deal will focus on enhancing international competitiveness, boosting electrification, and creating lead markets for green products. The new presidential administration in the U.S. could spur debates on trade policies like local content requirements, fostering green industries in the EU.
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- South Korea’s potential 2025 presidential election is an opportunity for the major manufacturing nation to advance industrial decarbonization through green technology incentives, aligning competitiveness with climate goals.
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- China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will outlinening policies for low-carbon steel, green hydrogen, and electrification., This could drive significant emissions reductions and reshape China’s role as an international manufacturing hub amid evolving geopolitics.
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- COP30 in November offers a platform to synchronize industrial transformation with international climate objectives. Agora plans to convene key actors for a green steel call to action, while Brazil-led initiatives could enhance trade in green products and set global benchmarks.
Agora will use these inflection points to inform policymakers, leveraging existing relationships at German and European levels and fostering international partners’ capability to drive industrial decarbonization forward.
An Agora Industry event on green lead markets (Berlin, Germany, December 2024)
Unlocking greater clean power with smart planning and regulations in Europe and China
As renewable energy growth reaches new heights, policymaker focus must now shift to fully realizing the potential to reach 100 percent clean grids, including supportive grid infrastructure, finance, and greater flexibility through storage and integration with other sectors. In 2025, Agora Energiewende and its International Network of Energy Transition Think Tanks (INETTT) partners are shaping this transition on several fronts:
In China, a pivotal moment approaches as the country strives to peak carbon emissions. This year, Agora will focus on how to refine the design of the national emissions trading system—an important policy instrument covering around 40 percent of the country’s power sector emissions—through a series of analytical reports and stakeholder events. Agora will also continue work on promoting a just transition across key provinces.
In Türkiye, 2025 is critical for advancing grid investments and electricity market reforms to meet ambitious renewable energy goals. SHURA’s upcoming research explores the structural changes necessary for a more flexible, resilient grid.
In the EU and Germany, new policy cycles are an opportunity to accelerate progress. As part of this, Agora will launch an interactive tool showing how locational electricity pricing in Germany could facilitate renewables integration and reduce consumer costs. In Europe, an upcoming analysis will explore effective planning strategies for developing infrastructure to support a climate-neutral energy system. Energy security is a key topic for the Polish EU presidency. Forum Energii will thus propose a strategy that demonstrates how to achieve both energy security and climate goals, highlighting the need for low-carbon power generation, reliable grids, and seamless sector interconnections.
Delegation visit to solar panel manufacturer facilitated by Agora, during the Europe-China Workshop on Clean Energy Transition (Shanxi, China, September 2024).
Celebrating major milestones that have created momentum for sustainable transport worldwide
In 2025, ITDP will be celebrating several key milestones for its programs, as well as the organization’s 40th anniversary. The Sustainable Transport Award program is marking its 20th year, having honored the mobility transformations of 30+ global cities since 2005, including this year’s winner, Dakar, Senegal. In addition, ITDP’s Cycling Cities campaign is nearing its conclusion following three years of close collaboration with 34 cohort cities to expand access to safe cycling infrastructure. With these celebrations, many opportunities still lie ahead for ITDP, even in the face of uncertainties surrounding global climate agreements.
ITDP’s work on the ground will continue to focus on sustaining and scaling city- and state-level mobility projects that matter even more now for advancing national-level change. In major cities from Mexico to Indonesia, ITDP’s teams expect to strengthen partnerships with development banks, governments, and bilateral agencies for decarbonization initiatives centered on electric and active mobility.
In Brazil especially, ITDP will be working to leverage recent climate investment platforms and policies announced by the federal government in the lead-up to COP30 in Belém. To bridge all these efforts, ITDP will publish its 2025-2030 strategic plan to define a new forward-looking vision for the organization that reflects the evolving landscape for sustainable transport worldwide.
This year, the global climate spotlight will be on Brazil as it hosts COP30, and ITDP will be emphasizing our regional efforts to improve e-buses and public transport across Brazilian cities.
Midway through this critical decade for the decarbonization of transportation, the ICCT is ramping up work on light- and heavy-duty vehicle regulations in major markets. Our latest global modeling shows that recent policies and commitments for light-duty vehicles through 2030 have moved us closer to a road transport emissions trajectory aligned with the Paris Agreement. Addressing disparities between regions is a key focus; ICCT research will expand the evidence for ambitious targets in Brazil’s Mobilidade Verde e Inovação (MOVER) program and the third and fourth phases of India’s corporate average fuel economy regulations, which would help it catch up with other leading markets.
Heavy-duty vehicles are a substantial source of transport air pollution in India’s most polluted cities. The ICCT will support their electrification by assessing public charging infrastructure needs along important freight corridors and policies to enhance cost-effectiveness. With China preparing rules that cover energy efficiency and an expanded range of criteria pollutants for both light- and heavy-duty vehicles, the ICCT will share international best practices, local electrification case studies, and more. As the ICCT celebrates 20 years of incorporation in 2025, we’re excited to expand our impact!