Accelerating the shift: industry transformation training for a climate-neutral future

Trainee, Full-time · Mexico City

Background & Purpose

The accelerated decarbonisation of both the industry and energy sectors is critical for achieving climate neutrality. This is particularly true in regions where the industrial sector is expected to drive economic development, leading to growth and a potential increase in emissions. Taking prompt action can mitigate the risk of becoming locked into fossil fuel-based assets and instead pave the way toward achieving climate neutrality. 
Industry decarbonisation remains a relatively novel topic for many think tanks working on the transformation towards climate neutrality, despite its global importance. Think tank experts will play an important role in driving action and developing strategies and policy recommendations for accelerating and supporting industry decarbonisation. This presents a strategic opportunity for think tanks to strengthen their expertise in the sector and expand their networks for collaboration.
Against this backdrop, Agora Industry will host a five-day training programme targeted at experts from INETTT member think tanks, strengthening participants’ knowledge and skills needed to advance discussions on industry transformation in their countries. The training aims to create a learning environment for participants to pool knowledge and foster cross-pollination amongst INETTT members, building on Agora Industry’s existing analytical and policy work. The training will also provide a space for participants to define or refine strategic priorities for their industry work and identify opportunities for collaboration and joint activities, facilitating coordinated and targeted action across INETTT to accelerate industry decarbonisation.

Training Objectives & Methods

On completion of the five-day training, participants will be able to:

Articulate and share knowledge on context-specific industry decarbonisation pathways, especially on the techno-economic dimensions of the transition.
Assess and then communicate compellingly on policy opportunities for their countries.

They will also have:

Defined or refined strategic priorities for the industry programmes in their respective think tanks to effectively advance industry transformation towards climate neutrality.
Mapped and identified relevant opportunities for collaboration and shared activities to build broader strategic alliances.

Thematically, the training will support participants in engaging with: 

The big picture: The role of industry decarbonisation in the wider context of the transition to climate neutrality and how it links to the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
The main industry subsectors: Mapping transition pathways and opportunities for emissions reductions in the steel, cement and chemical industry sectors.
Key cross-cutting strategies such as energy efficiency, electrification, hydrogen, a circular economy and carbon management.
Key policy instruments supporting the transition to climate-neutral industries, such as carbon pricing and demand side policies to initiate and scale up lead markets for circular and low-carbon materials.
International trade policy: The role of strategic partnerships for clean value chains and carbon border adjustments for governing trade rules for green products.
Social and financial aspects of the transition: The social implications and financial mechanisms supporting the shift to climate-neutral industrial production, ensuring a just transition.

Methods:
The programme features a dynamic mix of interactive expert presentations, hands-on exercises, group work and facilitated discussions. We strive to create a supportive and informal learning environment where participants can learn with and from one another. Sharing experiences and best practices from local contexts is highly encouraged.

Your profile

The training programme is open to applicants currently working for or affiliated with an INETTT member think tank. The training is mainly targeted towards mid-career professionals with previous experience in think tank work.
As we seek to increase participants’ knowledge and engage in discussing strategies to expand the impact of their institutions’ industry transition work, we ask that participants:

are already actively engaged in public and policy debates on industry or energy transitions;
are eager to increase their knowledge and advance the discussions and developments on the industry transformation in their respective countries/regions; and
are considering deepening or developing future activities related to industry transitions in their organisations.

As the training will be conducted in English, applicants must have sufficient English language communication skills.
Agora Industry and INETTT will host a second iteration of the training programme exclusively for INETTT members held in autumn 2026.

Location & Cost

The training programme will take place 8–12 September 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. The training team will announce the exact venue at a later date.
This is a full-time programme for 10-12 participants which requires full participation as sessions build on each other to ensure a comprehensive learning experience. The training programme will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm including catered lunch and coffee breaks.

Participation in the five-day training is free of charge.

In addition, the following costs will be covered:

Up to seven nights of accommodation at the training venue’s hotel (from Saturday, 6 September before the training until Saturday, 13 September after the training ends)
Breakfast and lunch on training days
Reimbursement of international travel to Mexico of up to EUR 1,300 per participant

Participants will be expected to cover:

Dinner costs
Visa costs (an invitation letter can be made available upon request)
Local transportation including airport transfers and travel within the city
Any personal/incidental expenses outside of the training (including e.g. travel or health insurance)

Disclaimer:
Please note that the INETTT Annual Meeting, hosted by IDEA and INETTT, is taking place the week prior to the training. The cost coverage policies outlined above apply only to the five-day training and its associated stay. If you plan to attend both events, please refer to the invitation of the INETTT Annual Meeting (which will be issued separately) for details on its specific cost coverage policies, as these may differ. For further questions regarding the INETTT Annual Meeting, you can also reach out to secretariat@inettt.org.

Application

We ask interested participants to prepare their CV and a short (max 600 words) letter of motivation. In the letter of motivation, we ask that you:

introduce yourself, your organisation and how your work addresses industry transformation topics or plans to address these topics in the future
describe your vision for how the knowledge and skills you expect to gain at the training will feed into your organisation’s activities

We encourage applications from individuals belonging to groups that have been underrepresented in energy and industry policy. To ensure a diversity of participants, we take into consideration factors such as regional and gender representation. Please let us know if you anticipate any barriers to your participation such as disability access, childcare requirements or other needs. While we cannot guarantee a solution, we will do our best to accommodate candidates chosen for the programme. We encourage you to apply.
Application deadline is 6 April 2025. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis – early applications are therefore advised.

For any questions, kindly reach out to us at info(at)agora-training(dot)org.

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About us

Informed specialists play a crucial role in tackling global climate issues and shaping the energy systems of tomorrow. Although energy policy primarily falls within the realm of national policy, national energy transformations share several commonalities, including international climate obligations, low-carbon technologies, traded energy resources, effective regulatory principles, and market structure.
To foster international expertise and knowledge transfer as well as strengthen the policy, communications, and technical skills of energy transition professionals around the globe, Agora Energiewende offers a range of training formats in both in-person and virtual settings. The training programmes, developed by Agora experts in cooperation with our partners, are particularly aimed at energy transition policy experts employed by or affiliated with think tanks or other non-governmental organisations. Experts from civil society organisations and/or academic bodies researching energy policy or other relevant fields fall into the wider target group.

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Your application!

We appreciate your interest in our trainings. Please fill in the following short form. Should you have any difficulties in uploading your files, please contact us by mail at info@agora-training.org.