Mission‑Oriented Innovation Policies for Net Zero

Annex C. Examples of net zero mission targets

Table C.1. Examples of net zero mission targets related to greenhouse gas emissions reductions

Net zero mission targets related to greenhouse gas emissions reductions

Austrian Transition missions (Austria)

Mission Climate Neutral City Cities as pioneers of climate neutrality – 10 large cities and 50-70 smaller cities by 2030

Mission Energy Transition Sustainable reduction of energy and resource consumption and comprehensive use of renewable energy sources by 2030

Mission Mobility Transition Sustainable, climate-neutral and inclusive mobility and transport system by 2040

Mission Circular Economy Resource efficiency and transformation to a sustainable and circular society by 2030

Austrian “EU” missions

Austrian EU Waters Mission (see Austrian transition missions) Climate-neutral City Mission (see Horizon Europe missions)

CSIRO’s missions (Australia)

Hydrogen Industry Mission

To avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to a third of Australia’s current fossil fuel emissions by 2050

Towards Net Zero

Help Australia’s hardest to abate sectors – including steel, sustainable aviation fuel and agriculture – halve their emissions by 2035

Energy Earthshots™ (United States)

Clean Fuels & Products Shot™

Decarbonise the fuel and chemical industry through alternative sources of carbon to advance cost-effective technologies with a minimum of 85% lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2035

Carbon Negative Shot™

Remove CO2 from the atmosphere and durably store it at meaningful scales for less than USD 100/net metric tonne carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) within a decade

Industrial Heat Shot™

Develop cost-competitive industrial heat decarbonisation technologies with at least 85% lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2035

Hydrogen Shot™

Accelerate innovations and spur demand of clean hydrogen by reducing the cost by 80%, to USD 1 per kilogramme of clean hydrogen within one decade

Long Duration Storage Shot™

Achieve affordable grid storage for clean power – anytime, anywhere – by reducing the cost of grid-scale energy storage by 90% for systems that deliver 10+ hours of duration within a decade

Enhanced Geothermal Shot™

Dramatically reduce the cost of enhanced geothermal systems by 90%, to USD 45 per megawatt hour by 2035

Floating Offshore Wind Shot™

Driving down costs to USD 45 per megawatt hour by 2035 to spur US leadership in floating offshore wind technology, accelerate decarbonisation and deliver benefits for coastal communities

Affordable Home Energy Shot™

Reduce the upfront cost of upgrading a home by at least 50% while reducing energy bills by 20% within a decade

Green missions/Innomissions (Denmark)

Carbon capture and storage or utilisation

To (potentially) capture, store or use in the order of 4-9 million tons., from Danish CO2 emissions (which overlap with the potential of power-to-X, as carbon can be both stored and used for example two-X products) between 2030 and 2040

Climate and environment-friendly agriculture and food production

To make the agricultural and food sectors climate-neutral by 2050

Green fuels for transportation and industry (power-to-X, etc.)

To contribute to the target of a 70% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Denmark by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050

Recycling and reduction of plastic waste

To remove 80% of plastic waste from incineration in 2030, which will lead to a reduction of CO2-eq from waste incineration of approximately 0.15 million tons (Mt) CO2-eq in 2030

Hightech Strategy 2025 (Germany)

Achieve Substantial Greenhouse Gas Neutrality in Industry

To achieve net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045, which entails the achievement of sectoral targets for industry by 2030 to reduce CO2 emissions by 49-51% compared with 1990 emissions

Horizon Europe’s missions (European Union)

Climate-neutral and Smart Cities

100 climate-neutral cities by 2030

Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Waters

To reduce CO2 emissions from the shipping sector operating in the European Union by 45% by 2030

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (United Kingdom)

Industrial Decarbonisation

Develop at least one low-carbon industrial cluster by 2030, and the world’s first net zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040

Transforming Construction Challenge

Lifetime emissions slashed by half

Transforming Food Production Challenge

Help businesses, researchers and industry to transform food production, meet the growing demand and move towards net zero emissions by 2040

Mission Driven Top-Sector Policy (Netherlands)

A Carbon-free Built Environment by 2050

Achieve a CO2-free built environment in 2050, requiring a 3.4 Mt CO2 reduction in 2030

A Net Climate-neutral Agriculture and Nature System in 2050

“By 2030, an additional reduction of at least 1 Mt CO2-eq for methane, 1 Mt CO2-eq for energy consumption in glasshouse horticulture and 1.5 Mt CO2-eq through smarter land use will have been achieved”

An Entirely Carbon-free Electricity System by 2050

To achieve a completely CO2-free electricity system in 2050, reducing CO2 emissions by at least 20.2 Mt by 2030

Carbon-neutral Industry With Reuse of Raw Materials and Products by 2050

To achieve a climate-neutral industry with reuse of raw materials and products in 2050, with an (interim) objective of a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials (minerals, fossil and metals) by 2030 amounting to an intermediate station with an indicative CO2 reduction target of 14.3 Mt

Zero-emission Mobility of People and Goods by 2050

To achieve zero-emission mobility for people and goods in 2050. By 2030, a maximum CO2 emission from mobility of 25 Mt, corresponding to a reduction of approximately 7 Mt extra compared to current emissions.

National Research Council Challenge programme (Canada)

Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge

Reduce 716 Mt of carbon dioxide emissions per year to reach the goal of net zero emissions by 2050

France 2030 Stratégies nationales d’accélération (France)

Carbon-neutral Hydrogen

Develop clean mobility solutions, particularly for heavy vehicles, which will enable saving more than 6 Mt CO2 by 2030 (equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of the city of Paris)