28/10/2026
The new episode of The Next Five is out today. Hard-to-abate sectors, the heavy industries of steel, cement and chemicals, plus transport, aviation and mining, are responsible for nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonising heavy industry at scale is no longer just an environmental imperative; it is a massive economic advantage if you get it right, and an even greater risk if you fail to do so.
For decades, the narrative surrounding these 'hard-to-abate' sectors has been trapped in a paralysing triad of assumptions: that transforming the backbone of world industry is simply too risky to execute, too complex to engineer, and far too expensive to justify. And on paper, that cost argument seems real. Clean production alternatives still carry a severe green premium. Near-zero steel costs anywhere from 10 to 75 per cent more to produce. Green cement? You're looking at a 30 to 125 per cent price increase.
Joining the host, Tom Parker, is Dino Otranto, CEO of Fortescue Metals, alongside Axel Eggert, Director General of EUROFER, The European Steel Association, and Bertrand Badré, Managing Partner and Founder of Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital and former Managing Director and CFO at the World Bank.
Follow The Next Five now, so you don't miss it: https://thenextfive.ft.com/
Partner Content by Fortescue
