Report: Building Blocks for a Climate-Neutral European Industrial Sector

The production of basic materials – cement, iron and steel, paper, aluminium, as well as chemicals and petrochemicals – is one of the main contributors to climate change, accounting for approximately 25% of global CO2 emissions, and around 16% of EU GHG emissions. The Climate Friendly Materials (CFM) Platform, which brings together leading researchers and policy advisors in Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Poland and Hungary presents a concrete package of policy instruments that creates economic incentives for private actors to pursue transformative investments aligned with Europe’s climate-neutral objectives for 2050 while keeping them in business. The underlying report offers explanation as to why such a package allows heavy industry to shift to climate-friendly materials while European industrial competitiveness in a global market is supported, through stimulation of global emission reductions and prevention of relocation of carbon-intensive production to less stringent regions.