The European Commission has introduced a new policy package known as the Clean Industrial Deal, which outlines specific actions to transform decarbonization into a growth driver for European industries. The plan aims to lower energy prices, create quality jobs, and establish favorable conditions for businesses to thrive.
The Clean Industrial Deal includes measures to enhance every stage of production, with a particular focus on the clean-tech sector and energy-intensive industries, such as steel. These sectors, which urgently need support, will benefit from efforts to decarbonize, switch to clean energy, and address challenges like high costs, global competition, and complex regulations.
Key components of the deal include:
- Lowering energy costs
- Boosting demand for clean products
- Financing the clean transition with over €100 billion for EU-made clean manufacturing
- Promoting circularity and improving access to raw materials
- Taking action on a global scale
- Creating skills and quality jobs
Additionally, the European Commission will establish a Critical Raw Material Centre to collectively purchase raw materials and will adopt a Circular Economy Act in 2026. The goal is for 24 percent of materials to be circular by 2030.
In response to the deal, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) acknowledged that the plan recognizes the strategic role of the European steel industry and the challenges it faces. However, EUROFER pointed out that some critical solutions, like those regarding global steel overcapacity and loopholes in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, have been left to future decisions or addressed inadequately. The association warned that without structural solutions to these issues, the initiatives related to the circular economy may not be sufficient.
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