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Climate change and sustainability are cornerstone in the political agenda of the European Union.
They are common themes nowadays and they need to be approached in an efficient way, considering all the variability to build a better and sustainable society. It is fundamental to program from now on specific actions that could be implemented in the upcoming times: the future is in our hands, and we need to act immediately.
Climate change is one of the most relevant crises of our times and it’s dramatically progressing faster than before.
According to what said before, then, the action recently taken by the European Commission is consistent in order to face this issue by acting together in European terms.
The New Green Deal Industrial Plan was at first presented by the European Commission during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. In this occasion the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Layen, said, among other things, what is reported below:
“We have a once in a generation opportunity to show the way with speed, ambition and a sense of purpose to secure the EU’s industrial lead in the fast-growing net-zero technology sector. Europe is determined to lead the clean tech revolution. For our companies and people, it means turning skills into quality jobs and innovation into mass production, thanks to a simpler and faster framework. Better access to finance will allow our key clean tech industries to scale up quickly.”
It is easy to understand that the Industrial Plan mentioned above is going to be included into the more general European Green Deal, which was already established in 2019.
The European Green Deal was adopted by the EU in order to make it able to cope with the major climate changes of our time, also fighting against the environmental degradation that today is more and more widespread. Thus, this Plan was made to provide effective responses that are capable of developing opportunities for all European citizens, from both economic and social perspectives. It is fundamental to face the future and its challenges by supporting our society and our economy, changing them in a sustainable and green way.
The central goal is to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, through the creation of opportunities related to innovation, investment and employment. This is intended to be achieved through the adoption of proposals that can lead to the transformation of EU climate, energy, transport and fiscalism.
This process of renewal and transformation of our community must therefore be pursued through specific actions that are, above all, sustainable for the environment and society.
It is therefore necessary that the economy adapt itself to these changes, giving rise to a genuine new economic model, reshaped according to the needs and conditions of today life today and in the name of a future that should be sustainable and eco-friendly.
Industrial Plan is something new in the building process of a circular and green economy in the European Union
The new Industrial Plan is adding something valuable in the framework of the previous European Green Deal and in the RePowerEU Strategy (which is a European strategy that aims to defeat the energy crisis).
The Industrial Plan 2023 proposed by the European Commission is based on four pillars, divided as following:
- A predictable, coherent and simplified regulatory environment;
- Faster access to sufficient funding;
- Skills;
- Open trade for resilient supply chains
The details of each pillar are outlined below to provide a clear picture of what the EU intends to do to increase the productive capacity of member states through the development and the adoption of technologies and products with zero impact on the environment.
A simplified and certain regulatory environment
The first pillar of the plan concerns a simpler regulatory framework.
It aims to promote a simpler legislation that facilitates the realization of a net-zero industrial sector by supporting companies in the process of transition to a green economy model.
It also intends to facilitate the access to critical raw materials (essential for sustainable technologies) and to support consumers so they can take advantage of renewable energy at sustainable costs.
Faster access to financing
The second pillar of the plan intends to increase the investment and to finance a clean technology production. It aims to implement policies that fosters the green transition, supporting it through both public and private financing.
Moreover, on the path to a total sustainable and green transformation the EU propose the institution of a European Sovereignty Fund, to realize by summer 2023, to make the single market more competitive and increasingly self-sustaining.
Skills
2023 is the European Year of Skills. In this context, therefore, it would be supporting the adoption of a “skills-first” approach in order to develop the skills needed in the green transition process. For this, it is also intended to propose a Zero Emission Industry Academy, with the aim of implementing programs that improve skills within the industrial sector.
Open trade for resilient supply chains
The fourth pillar addresses global cooperation and trade. It is crucial to support the green transition through fair competition and cooperation among partners and free trade.
The single market will be protected, and efforts will be made to make the clean technology sector as competitive as possible.
The European institutions intends to collaborate together to create a Social Climate Fund. Synergistic action between the EU Council, EU Commission, and European Parliament is a priority to reach as soon as possible the reduction of net gas emissions
Finally, the Plan is also a response by the Commission to calls made by the European Council. The Council, in fact, called for faster and more efficient action on this issue as well, after assessing as unresponsive the responses adopted in emergency situations, such as those related, for example, to the energy crisis.
The frost between the President of the Commission and the President of the EU Council is now well known, especially after the letter sent by Michel, in which he accused the Commission of operating too slowly and where he asked for concreteness and speed in dealing with current issues.
These two European institutions, together with the Parliament, must talk to each other and work together to put in place appropriate tools that can ensure resilience and competitiveness for the European Union and all its member states.
Only in this way, with synergistic EU action, the climate neutrality and a sustainable and resilient society can be achieved.
The protection of the environment and the fight against environmental degradation concerns us all, and we need to work toward the realization of a new circular economy, that can increase the productive and commercial capacity of the whole European Union.
The Special European Council: the EU leaders met to solve the crises that are affecting our times
During the last Special European Council, which took place in Bruxelles, the European leaders met to discuss and to adopt some measures to face some issues that are affecting the Eu and the whole world, such as the energy crisis and the question of migration.
In addition to that, it was also discussed the Industrial Plan. In this occasion, the European Council addressed the Commission, asking for a more regular report on the impact of state aid policy and highlighting the importance of the future reforms in electricity field. These reforms should be efficient and they ensure security of supply and implement the EU’s competitiveness.
For all these reasons, now more than ever the European institutions will have to work with all the member States to take Europe into the future, by creating a community greener, more sustainable and more competitive than ever.