2021 Joint Launch Statement

JOINT MEMBER STATEMENT ON THE LAUNCH OF MISSION INNOVATION 2.0

Approved 31 May 2021 at the Sixth Mission Innovation Ministerial

With the intent to launch a decade of clean energy innovation that mobilises and connects global research, development and demonstration efforts to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement including pathways to net zero by making clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible to all, the following members of Mission Innovation, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, the European Commission on behalf of the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Members”), commit to an ambitious second phase.

Five years ago, founding countries launched Mission Innovation alongside the historic Paris Agreement to accelerate clean energy innovation, recognising it as indispensable for tackling our shared global challenges of combating climate change, generating sustainable jobs and growth, and ensuring energy access and energy security. To date, twenty-five Members responsible for greater than 90% of global public investments in clean energy innovation have committed to invest more and work together. These Members are now investing an additional USD$5.8 billion annually in research, development and demonstration and Mission Innovation has become a catalyst for strengthened global cooperation on clean energy innovation as part of an urgent and lasting response to climate change.

Today, as many governments and businesses around the world continue to commit to ambitious climate goals and to reach net zero emissions, the need for innovation has never been greater or more urgent. To achieve the Paris Agreement, all sectors of the economy need access to cost competitive clean energy solutions this decade. We need to scale up the deployment of existing clean energy technologies and accelerate clean energy innovation to deliver affordable solutions for the most difficult climate challenges. Global cooperation on research, development and demonstration between governments, investors, businesses and academia based on shared goals and principles will be vital. By harnessing the ingenuity of researchers and innovators around the globe we can deliver growth, jobs and a cleaner planet for future generations.

Vision for Mission Innovation 2.0

Members are stepping up their collective ambition and cooperation through a second phase of Mission Innovation. We are launching a decade of clean energy innovation, mobilising and connecting global RD&D efforts to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement including pathways to net zero, by making clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible to all. Members will maximise the impact of research, development and demonstration investments, working together and with others. We recognise the importance of ensuring that innovation considers the diverse needs faced by all communities and enables gender equality. Through these efforts we will support faster, cleaner, affordable energy transitions, increasing global confidence to set, or strengthen, ambitious climate and energy goals.

Mission Innovation will:

  • Be an action-oriented forum for government leaders to pioneer clean energy solutions through domestic innovation action and international cooperation. Members will capitalize on collective expertise, capability and interests to accelerate the development of innovative solutions.
  • Catalyse global action through public-private Missions that set ambitious and inspirational innovation goals that can lead to tipping points in the cost, performance or scale of clean energy solutions, leading to more rapid technology adoption.
  • Build confidence in clean energy solutions through an Innovation Platform by analysing global innovation progress and facilitating knowledge-sharing and collaboration to support all countries in planning ambitious clean energy transitions.
  • Develop pathways to deployment by actively working in partnership with the private and financial sectors and other initiatives to boost demand for new solutions, and to explore ground-breaking opportunities for public-private investment.

    Member contributions

Members are clean energy champions committed to pioneering clean energy solutions domestically and internationally. Building on the success of the first phase and recognising the vital need for clean energy investment to accelerate innovation, each Member seeks to sustain, and wherever possible increase investment in clean energy research, development and demonstrations over the second phase.

Mission Innovation is a collaborative, collective endeavour with all Members actively and voluntarily contributing based on their priorities in a spirit of transparency and mutual support. In contribution to this decade of clean energy innovation each Member demonstrates leadership through:

    National Innovation Pathways:[1] Members will describe how they will enhance ambition to pioneer clean energy technologies and/or sectors to meet their climate and energy goals.

    • Recognising Members’ individual priorities and resources, these pathways (1) illustrate energy transition scenarios and identify innovation needs until at least 2030; (2) describe plans to address innovation needs, including institutional design and working internationally (3) indicate how Members will measure innovation outcomes and innovation ecosystem developments; (4) identify preferred modes and methods of collaboration; and (5) may consider domestic competitiveness and economic opportunities and draw on existing climate and clean energy plans as appropriate.
    • Members will facilitate constructive knowledge exchange and learning on these pathways. Each Member will report on progress and commit to reviewing and, if applicable, updating its pathway to respond to the emerging innovation landscape.

    Strengthened Cooperation: Members will accelerate innovation through strengthened international cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Members will actively participate in at least one major Mission Innovation initiative, through a demonstrable leadership role in either a Mission or the Innovation Platform, identifying opportunities to bring resources to support the delivery of common goals and sharing knowledge. Members will also support coordination through their engagement with other clean energy alliances and initiatives.

      Active Participation: Members will support the success of Mission Innovation by actively contributing to its governance functions including through high-level participation in the annual Ministerial, supporting the Steering Committee, contributing to workstreams and resourcing the Secretariat. We will set up a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and support its activity. Roles of the TAG will include reviewing the Missions and Innovation Platform to improve our efforts for greater impact and provide support to exchange knowledge across National Innovation Pathways.

In the spirit of an inclusive and global reach, Members intend to welcome additional members that endorse this Statement and formulate their proposal to join based on the membership commitments above. We further welcome the continued collaboration with the following existing organisations and global efforts including: Breakthrough Energy, CEM, IEA, IRENA, the Global Covenant of Mayors, the Mission Possible Partnership, the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum. Mission Innovation looks forward to building new partnerships in the same spirit of results-based collaboration.

The Members reaffirm our commitment to look forward to sustained and strengthened cooperation across sectors and key technologies as we work to accelerate the clean energy revolution. We will build momentum at COP26, our annual Ministerial and working with future G20 and COP Presidencies to profile, strengthen and accelerate innovation efforts needed to meet our Paris goals. We commit to assess progress, review core activities and recommend a path forward for Mission Innovation five years after the approval of this Statement.


[1] For the European Union, the description will refer to European Commission clean energy activities.