Europe’s response to Biden’s green subsidy law lacks teeth

(Transport and Environment, 8 Feb 2023) The European Commission calls on the industry to scale up the development and production of “clean technologies”. But fails to pick priority sectors and to fill the financing gap.

The initiative to create a Green Deal Industrial Plan for Europe pays tribute to the green transition’s crucial role in strengthening Europe’s economy, strategic autonomy and climate ambition. Powerful, not toothless EU support is needed to capture green supply and value chains in a context of global competition.

The Plan presented on Wednesday sets the correct direction of travel for the decarbonisation of industry and rapid deployment of green products. It focuses on regulation, goal setting, mobilising public and private funding. 

At this stage, the Commission’s plan has two major shortcomings. First, its broad scope. It doesn’t target truly transformative and innovative technologies such as renewables, batteries or green hydrogen. Rather, it includes unproven or environmentally harmful technologies as well as fossil fuels related activities – such as biofuels, biogas, Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and non-renewable hydrogen

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Transport and Environment, 8 Feb 2023: Europe’s response to Biden’s green subsidy law lacks teeth