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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Energy-intensive industries

The Commission aims for climate-neutral competitiveness. Transition to climate-neutrality will require transformational efforts in all sectors of the economy. Industry, responsible for 15 % of the EU’s emissions, will be an important part of the effort. The challenge is to lower emissions while keeping industry competitive and positioning it to exploit the huge potential global market for low-emission technologies and services. 

Energy-intensive industries (EIIs), embedded in many strategic value chains, make up more than half of the energy consumption of the EU industry. EIIs produce goods and materials that enable reduction of emissions in other sectors of the economy, including transport, construction and power generation. The EIIs share the ambition of the Paris Agreement and acknowledge the extent of the transformation challenge as well as the opportunities it brings. Given the long investment cycles for these industries, meeting the 2050 targets requires fast action.

What the European Commission does

The High Level Group on Energy-Intensive Industries, advising the Commission on policies relevant to energy-intensive industries since 2015, developed a masterplan with recommendations to build the policy framework needed to manage this transition while keeping our industry competitive. The masterplan presents an integrated policy framework with recommendations to ensure that these industries can contribute to Europe’s 2050 climate-neutrality ambitions. It outlines actions that could provide the right market signals to attract new investments in Europe, help companies implement cost-effective pathways towards climate-neutrality and seize new business opportunities in Europe and abroad. The masterplan also focuses on the need to ensure a just transition and considers the need to equip workers with new skills and help communities dependent on these industries to manage the transition.

Further reading

News article and report - Innovative clean technologies can make energy-intensive industries climate neutral