In January 2023, the European Commission published the transition pathway for the chemical industry. The pathway is an actionable plan co-developed by the European Commission with EU countries, chemical industry stakeholders, NGOs and other interested parties. It identifies the actions and conditions needed to achieve the green and digital transition and improve resilience in the chemical industry, in line with the updated EU industrial strategy.
The chemical industry, the fourth largest industry in the EU, plays a key role in the European twin transition. Chemicals are present in about 95% of manufactured goods and are at the basis of Europe’s major value chains. In addition, the chemical industry is one of the largest CO2 emitters in the EU.
Therefore, the European Commission co-created the transition pathway for the chemical industry with stakeholders. It provides a list of more than 150 actions, grouped under 26 topics, to be implemented by the concerned stakeholders within an agreed timeframe.
The European Commission has set up the Working Group on Chemical Industry to work together on co-implementing the pathway. On 31 March 2023, we published a call for applications.
The first deadline to submit applications was set for 30 April 2023. However, the call will remain open during the entire implementation of the pathway. We will update you about the next cut-off date to submit your application.
More information on the call for applications can be found in this document.
Are you working on an initiative towards the digital and green transition of the chemical industry? Please let us know! On 12 July 2023, the European Commission published a call for transition initiatives to support the co-implementation of the actions highlighted in the Transition Pathway for the Chemical Industry.
The call for transition initiatives will remain open during the entire co-implementation process of the pathway.
Please submit your transition initiative here.
Do you want to know more about the twin transition? Here is the list of published transition initiatives with the latest contributions as of February 2024.
We will continue to review and publish transition initiatives on an ongoing basis.
On 29 February 2024, the European Commission published its Guidance on EU Funding opportunities to support the co-implementation process.
This guide lists relevant funding programmes and calls that can finance investments in the twin transition of the EU Chemical Industry, who can apply and by when.
We intend to update this guide in the upcoming months as soon as new calls are published on the European’s Commission Funding and Tender Portal.
The Annual Progress Report highlights the main results of the co-implementation of the Transition Pathway for the Chemical Industry over the past year.
Based on the input provided by stakeholders, the call for transition initiatives launched in July 2023 as well as desk research, the report provides an overview of the state of play of the twin transition of the EU Chemical Industry under the main building blocks of the Pathway. Around 80% of the 187 actions needed for the twin transition highlighted in the Pathway have been supported.
The document also presents an updated version of the regulatory roadmap included in the Transition Pathway and proposes next steps to be carried during the second year of co-implementation.