Climate mitigation strategies have long focused on operational emissions — those produced during the use of vehicles, buildings and appliances — while largely overlooking the embodied emissions locked into infrastructures, buildings and manufactured goods. This session argues that improving the utilization of infrastructures and goods offers a powerful and underutilised lever within green industrialization via alternative provisioning systems: one that cuts embodied emissions significantly while also reducing operational ones, providing an integrated entry point across the energy, climate and industry nexus. This approach support system resilience and security through its various co-benefits.

Drawing on sectoral case studies in mobility infrastructure, buildings and household appliances, the session shows how alternative provisioning systems can lower energy and material resource use and support decent living standards and wellbeing. Their importance grows sharply as systems approach net-zero GHG emissions — the point at which operational emissions are largely eliminated and embodied emissions dominate. Alternative provisioning systems also open green growth pathways for industry through new business models and activities. The presented strategies are suitable for different country contexts, in building up novel industries and infrastructure or when transforming existing industries.