We must urgently shift from climate commitment to implementation—and despite challenging geopolitics, most of the highest-emitting countries are forging ahead, opening multiple policy windows simultaneously.
What makes this year pivotal is the opportunity for coordinated action: Indonesia is advancing building efficiency, power sector transformation, industrial decarbonization, and vehicle electrification all at once. India is scaling building codes while expanding e-bus fleets and tackling urban air quality. Brazil is positioning itself as a green industry leader while expanding sustainable transport and raising appliance standards. China is implementing its 15th Five-Year Plan across motors, industrial parks, and agricultural equipment.
The Crux Alliance is uniquely positioned to help policymakers design policies that reinforce each other across sectors.
I wanted to share our plans for driving impact in 2026. We look forward to collaborating with you in the year ahead.
Joe Ryan
Executive Director
Crux Alliance
Delivering impact at scale: CLASP’s 2026 appliance efficiency agenda
In 2026, CLASP will continue advancing policy progress in the highest-emitting countries—policies that CLASP estimates could avoid up to 7.5 Gt of CO₂ emissions by 2050. Strategic interventions for the “net-zero hero” appliances that drive equity, prosperity, and climate goals include:
- Sustainable cooling: Global demand for air conditioning is projected to skyrocket from 1.6 billion units in use in 2023 to 5.6 billion in 2050, so raising efficiency standards now will avoid emissions for decades to come. CLASP is pursuing efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners in Brazil and will launch research to prevent the dumping of obsolete air conditioners in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Efficient motor systems: Without stronger efficiency measures, motor systems could account for 33 percent of energy-related emissions by 2050, causing a $9 trillion loss in GDP. CLASP is supporting stronger motor standards, collecting and analyzing evidence to inform action, and building industry readiness in countries from China and India to Nigeria, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
Scaling health, equity, and resilience in the buildings sector
In 2026, GBPN will continue its work to help countries translate climate commitments into actions that deliver measurable emissions reductions in the construction sector and healthier, more equitable buildings for communities:
- In Indonesia, GBPN will support the implementation of a Green Affordable Housing National Roadmap, revisions to ministerial regulations to expand minimum energy performance standards nationwide, and the issuance of guidelines for local implementation of sustainable buildings. GBPN is also advancing retrofit guidelines and pilot incentives with state-owned utility PLN, and facilitating knowledge exchange between Indonesia and China.
- In India, GBPN will scale implementation of the Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code across two states, scale a new national building code e-compliance platform, and continue integrating Healthy Urban Planning Guidelines into city planning.
- As part of the global Buildings Breakthrough Agenda, GBPN will support the launch of Kenya’s national decarbonization roadmap, lead a baseline assessment of new buildings in South Africa, and host peer learning for Buildings Breakthrough countries, embedding equity, health, and a just transition.
Accelerating industrial transformation momentum
Agora Industry will drive industrial transformation momentum in 2026 by engaging across multiple policy venues:
- In Europe, Clean Industrial Deal implementation is a crucial opportunity to advance electrification, hydrogen ramp-up, and green lead markets. In parallel, as the EU revises its carbon market rules and brings the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) into force, Agora will help maintain climate ambition and promote policy coherence across key EU member states such as Germany and France.
- In China, Agora’s work on steel and coal-based chemicals supports the scaling of zero-carbon industrial parks as the government implements its 15th Five-Year Plan.
- In Brazil, Agora’s proposals for green iron trade—successfully launched during the COP—can help shape the country’s green industrial strategy.
- Agora’s work on demand-side measures to unlock investment in clean steel aims to advance the transformation across Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s forthcoming decarbonization roadmap for carbon-intensive sectors, for example, is an opportunity Agora will leverage to further such measures.
- Building on COP30 and Climate Club commitments, Agora Industry will continue to engage in global initiatives that advance green public procurement, standards, and clean industry targets.
Moving from early reform to system-wide implementation
2026 marks a pivotal year for accelerating system transformation. Agora Energiewende and partners across the International Network of Energy Transition Think Tanks (INETTT) will actively help shape key policy frameworks:
- In South Korea, priorities include formalizing commitments to phase out coal and updating reliability standards.
- As host of COP31, Türkiye can demonstrate solid progress and accelerate momentum toward a decarbonized electricity system.
- In Indonesia, the president’s pledge in 2025 to achieve 100 GW of solar PV creates a clear policy window to develop a robust plan to meet this goal.
- In South Africa, ongoing electricity sector reform is an opportunity to strengthen the business case for renewable energy and accelerate the relevant infrastructure investment.
- At the EU level, the implementation of the European Commission’s “Grids Package” is high on the agenda. Showing the benefits of coordinated infrastructure planning can help secure national governments’ support and thus drive investment in the infrastructure underpinning Europe’s energy transition.
Empowering cities through well-funded, electric public transport
This year presents many opportunities for ITDP to continue elevating the importance of sustainable public transport in line with its 2030 Strategic Plan, including the launch of the United Nations’ first Decade for Sustainable Transport, an initiative that ITDP will leverage to draw greater attention to the need for well-funded, well-managed public transport everywhere.
- ITDP continues to build on progress from Brazil’s COP30 to advance transport decarbonization via a regional e-bus investment fund.
- In India, the ongoing rollout of e-bus fleets in multiple cities presents opportunities to expand upon a national EV framework.
- In China, ITDP will build on key guidelines for road freight decarbonization released last year, helping local governments, logistics operators, and energy providers plan and finance more sustainable models for this high-emitting sector.
- And in cities in Ethiopia and Senegal, ITDP will promote regional models for urban transport centered on electric bus rapid transit and the growing market for EVs.
Driving policies that reduce transportation emissions across major and emerging markets
The ICCT’s latest global modeling shows that policies enacted over the last four years are on track to steadily reduce global road transport emissions despite projected increases in vehicle activity. However, achieving climate goals requires accelerated action—particularly in heavy-duty segments and emerging markets.
- This year, the ICCT will focus on defending and strengthening transport policies in the EU and supporting innovative CO₂ measures that bridge transport and green industrial policy.
- ICCT will also work with the government in India to address air quality challenges in major cities like Delhi, supporting India’s efforts to slash urban pollution and protect human health.
- And ICCT will expand its global work on super pollutants (e.g., black carbon, methane, and nitrogen oxides [NOx]), which have outsized near-term warming effects, which means addressing them can deliver rapid climate benefits. ICCT will focus on cutting super pollutants from commercial vehicles in Indonesia and Vietnam, global diesel hotspots, and global non-road machinery (with an emphasis on agricultural and construction equipment in China and India), and also produce new research on aviation cruise NOx and particulate matter.