Presentation
Drawing on research from the EU Horizon 2020 funded COP21 RIPPLES research project, as well as adjacent research activities of the consortium partners, this Policy Brief makes the case for a comprehensive EU Industrial Decarbonization Mission based on key project results related to the decarbonization of heavy industries, in particular steel making. It argues why industrial transformation is at the heart of the decarbonization challenge, and must be addressed with a coherent and ambitious industrial policy and innovation strategy.
Key Messages
- Decarbonization of emission intensive industries is a key challenge for achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement, both for the EU and globally. The European Commission should include an ‘Industrial Decarbonization Mission’ under the European Green Deal.
- A coherent industrial decarbonization strategy should provide long-term clarity for the direction of innovation, integrate different policy priorities, use the full range of innovation instruments and coordinate among different governance levels.
- A transnational steel sector decarbonization club could help the EU achieve several objectives at a time: advance domestic decarbonization and renew its role as a leader in international climate diplomacy. A club could also be an ideal testbed to pilot the introduction of border carbon adjustments.
