European steel association Eurofer has welcomed the European Commission’s publishing of a comprehensive masterplan for the transformation of energy-intensive industries.
The “Masterplan for a Competitive Transformation of EU Energy-Intensive Industries Enabling a Climate-neutral, Circular Economy by 2050” was published after ten months of work.
The plan includes the creation of markets for climate-neutral and circular economy products, and support for industrial-scale demonstration of breakthrough technologies. It also includes access to competitively-priced low or carbon-neutral energy.
The EU steel industry, with its 320,000 employees, is responsible for almost 2.3 million indirect and induced European jobs, Eurofer points out. These industries underpin Europe’s key value chains in fields such as automotive, machinery, construction, and energy technology. However, the environmental impact of these industries remains large even though emissions have been reduced by 36% since 1990 – no other part of the economy has reduced more, the association explains.
“One of the main messages of the Masterplan – though not explicitly expressed therein – is that climate mitigation – and this includes making energy-intensive industries carbon neutral – is a shared responsibility between industry, policymakers and civil society”, Eurofer director general Axel Eggert says in a note sent to Kallanish. Current policy measures must be aligned with the principles laid out in this report, he adds.
“The Masterplan is not just a plan in the literal sense – it is also a process for a better understanding among stakeholders about what is needed to make the transition to a low-carbon future a success,” Eggert continues. “If it works, it would be win-win for both the industry and society as a whole… We hope that this important report will feed into discussions in the EU Council about the European Green Deal.”
