It will review policy and practical options for enhanced collaboration to facilitate the co-development, diffusion, access, adaptation, and scale up of technologies critical for heavy industry decarbonization, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities for developing countries. It will explore lessons learned and prospects for innovative partnerships, cooperative arrangements, and enhanced cooperation on trade and trade policies, technology, and standards.

The dialogue will take place in a “brainstorming mode” and will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions based on the following guiding questions:

(i) What are the key trade-related challenges and opportunities relevant to heavy industry decarbonization? 

(ii) What are the main constraints and obstacles preventing the rapid development, diffusion, scale up, and adaptation of technologies vital for the decarbonization of heavy industries (e.g. high costs of technology and capital, financing challenges, adaptation of new and existing technologies to specific contexts, trade or regulatory constraints)?

(iii) Drawing on existing precedents and lessons learned, what types of collaborative frameworks would effectively support the co-development, accessibility, diffusion, and uptake of key technologies and facilitate a just and fair transition to heavy industry decarbonization, particularly in developing countries?

(iv) What is the role of trade and trade-related cooperation and instruments in supporting the decarbonization of heavy industries, what forms could this take, and through what kinds of processes (e.g. regional, sectoral, bilateral, or multilateral)? How might related issues of investment and cooperation on standards fit in?

(v) What are the prospects and possible pathways for enhanced intergovernmental cooperation in this area, as well as among governments and businesses? How to enhance the political prospects for such cooperation in light of competitive, security, and trade tensions?