What European strategy to achieve a net zero emissions industry?

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The US Congress recently approved a $369 billion “Inflation Reduction Act” to accelerate the US energy transition. China launched its "Made in China 2025" program in 2015 and is now a dominant player, both in the critical metals sector and its refining, and in the manufacture of a range of cleantech products that are fundamental to the global energy transition.

Faced with this situation, the Old Continent is worried and now fears that European companies will relocate. In response, the European Commission has unveiled two draft laws, one for "net zero industry" (“Net Zero Industry Act”) aimed at accelerating and subsidizing a zero-emission industry and the other on raw materials (“European Raw Materials Act”), the objective of which is to secure the supply of strategic raw materials to the EU-27.

By simplifying the framework governing the granting of state aid on the continent, there is a risk of creating unfair competition even within the Member States of the European Union. Each Member State does not have the same budgetary means or the same administrative capacity to grant funds.

Furthermore, the idea of a new "European sovereignty fund" financed through a common loan, on the model of the solution chosen to deal with the pandemic in 2020, has resurfaced. But several EU countries (Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Ireland, Estonia, Slovakia) have already announced their opposition to this idea by sending a letter to the European Commission. 

At a time when the European Union has set itself high climate ambitions, how can the climate objectives be achieved while preserving the European industrial base? What are the proposals and policy options discussed in the Member States?

Program

14h00 : Welcome speech

• Xavier Timbeau, OFCE
• Thomas Manz, Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung

14h10 : Overview of the global situation

Introduction and moderation : Xavier Timbeau, Director, OFCE

14h20 : Country views

• Elvire Fabry, Senior Research Fellow, Jacques Delors Institute, France
• Janek Steitz,Director, Dezernat Zukunft, Institute for Macrofinance,Germany
• Davide Panzeri, Senior Policy Advisor at ECCO, Italy  
• Daniel Fuentes, Professor at the University of Alcalá and Director of KREAB Research, Spain
• Lauri Muranen, Chief Advisor, Economic Policy at the Finnish Trade Union Confederation SAK, Finland
• Elinor Odeberg, Chief Economist of Arena Idé, Sweden

15h30 : Debate

16h00 : End of the conference

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