Beyond carbon emissions reductions: Examining the co-benefits of industrial decarbonisation in the United Kingdom
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: • UK synthesis of R&D or early-deployment co-benefits across IDRIC projects, using a reproducible coding frame and sector mapping. • Five clusters identified environment and health; energy cost and productivity; skills and jobs; energy security; demand and material efficiency, with mechanisms and enabling conditions. • Policy–technology pairings recur (e.g., power-price reform with electrified heat; CO₂ transport and storage with CCUS); evidence remains pre-commercial and contingent on infrastructure/incentives. • Limits: R&D-weighted, mostly anticipated benefits; realisation depends on infrastructure, market design, incentives, and demand-side uptake. • Reproducible method: screened UK-relevant outputs, coded to a directed framework, mapped to sectors/technologies and mechanisms. Industrial decarbonisation reduces greenhouse gases emissions and also deliver broader economic and social gains. We synthesise co-benefits of decarbonising energy-intensive industries in the United Kingdom by combining a scoping review with evidence from over 60 Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) projects. We asked where, how and for whom co-benefits arise at R&D and early deployment stages, and what technology-policy pairing unlock them. Using a reproducible coding framework, we classify co-benefits into four clusters, i) environmental and health; ii) energy cost and productivity; iii) innovation, skills, and jobs; and iv) energy security and system resilience. Across our classification, frequently reported benefits include improve local air quality, reduced energy intensity and operating expenses volatility, workforce upskilling and new roles in emerging value chains, and reduced exposure to imported fuels via electrification, hydrogen, and CCUS. Because the evidence base is R&D-weighted, many benefits are anticipated rather than realised and are contingent on enabling infrastructure, market design, and standards. We propose a short reporting system to standardise co-benefits documentation and improve comparability. Our study reveals where targeted policy and investment can most effectively convert potential co-benefits into tangible outcomes at cluster scale.
Authors: Abbas AbdulRafiu, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Marc Hudson, M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Clare Howard
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,540
OpenAlex ID: W4416185524