Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday held discussions with industry representatives from hard-to-abate sectors, including steel, cement and transport, as well as academic research institutions, ahead of India’s participation in the UN climate conference COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.
The interaction brought together Indian member companies of the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), including Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Synergy Advanced Metals, Adani Ambuja Cement, Dalmia Cement, JK Cement, JSW Cement, UltraTech Cement, Volvo Group and SpiceJet.
Project partners under the India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP) included Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, Prism Johnson, Höganäs India and MyHome Industries. Representatives of research institutions working on low-carbon technologies, including the National Council for Cement and Building Materials, IIT Bombay, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Kharagpur, also attended the meeting.
Addressing the participants, Yadav said the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the government were committed to supporting collaborative climate action. He said LeadIT 3.0 would be an implementation-oriented platform aimed at translating climate ambitions into tangible outcomes.
The minister emphasised that India’s approach to climate action was based on collaboration among the government, industry and academia. He also highlighted the country’s efforts to address climate change through various policies and programmes.
Industry members and project partners shared their experiences of working with LeadIT and underlined the importance of cooperation between the government, industry and research institutions. They acknowledged the platform’s role in facilitating project partnerships, assessing technological feasibility and promoting knowledge-sharing.
Industry representatives also called for further support in preparing pre-competitive projects, implementing pilot initiatives and building capacity.
The Governments of India and Sweden launched LeadIT in 2019 at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, with support from the World Economic Forum. The renewed mandate of the initiative was announced by the prime ministers of the two countries in May 2026.
LeadIT is a public-private partnership that currently brings together 19 countries and 33 companies. Yadav and Sweden’s Ministry of Climate and Enterprise are scheduled to launch its third phase, LeadIT 3.0, on November 17, 2026, at the LeadIT Industry Leaders Roundtable on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya.
-PIB
