Decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors is central to India's net-zero pathway. Examine the role of multilateral platforms like LeadIT in this transition.

Steel alone produces about 12% of India's CO₂. Its emission intensity is 2.55 t CO₂ per tonne of crude steel, against a global average of 1.85 t [6]. Clean technology for heavy industry is still immature and costly, so India's 2070 net-zero goal depends on cooperation across borders. LeadIT (Leadership Group for Industry Transition) was launched by India and Sweden in 2019 [1]. It helps with this transition, but it can only support domestic action, not replace it.

Why hard-to-abate sectors matter

• Process emissions: in cement and steel, a large share of emissions comes from the production chemistry itself, so switching to renewable power alone cannot remove them.
• Trade exposure: the EU's CBAM may raise the compliance burden on Indian steel exports [7].

Role of LeadIT

• Convening: brings together 19 countries and 33 companies, including 13 Indian firms, in a public-private model [1].
• Technology co-development: technology transfer and co-development is one of the three pillars of LeadIT 2.0 [2].
• Pilots: under the India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership, Swedish firms have been shortlisted for steel and cement pre-pilots in India [3]. At COP30, 18 institutions were announced for projects in carbon capture and hydrogen-based heating [4].
• Triple-helix model: links government, industry and academia, for example NCCBM and the IITs [1].
• Diplomatic voice: gives India a platform to press developed countries on technology transfer and finance [5].

Limitations

• No funding of its own: industry still asks for support on pre-competitive project preparation and pilots [1].
• Slow delivery: COP29 promised "tangible results" by COP30 [3]. LeadIT 3.0 is again being presented as "implementation-oriented" [1].
• Voluntary: it has no binding targets and no statutory basis.

Way forward

• Publish a project scorecard for LeadIT 3.0.
• Measure pilots against India's Green Steel Taxonomy [8].
• Let projects prepared through LeadIT move into the ₹20,000 crore CCUS scheme [9].
• Give priority to products exported to CBAM markets.

LeadIT is useful as a connector. It brings in foreign technology, partners and recognition for India's own green standards. Domestic money and regulation must still do the heavy lifting. If LeadIT 3.0 links global partnerships to national schemes, it can help India grow while cutting emissions, in line with SDG 9 and SDG 13 and the Paris principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.