Executive Summary

Industrial heat is required to make many essential products, creating 12.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing these emissions, and the many market, technological, and policy barriers that prevent companies from using renewable heat sources, is critical to meet 1.5°C climate goals. WWF, C2ES, and DGA jointly manage the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, the first coalition of buyers, sellers, and service providers dedicated to scaling renewable thermal solutions. Through this Collaborative, we will leverage energy buyers’ demand to accelerate market development, educate policymakers, and lower technology costs. We will engage hundreds of organizations to catalyze systems change, support on-the-ground renewable thermal projects to accelerate learning and scaling of renewable thermal solutions, and work with partners to ensure a just transition for workers. We will increase the use of renewable thermal energy by 150% over the next decade, leading to a 30% decrease in industrial thermal emissions by 2030.