EU’s green industrial plan vague on clean tech, finance, critics say

(EurActiv, 2 Feb 2023) The Commission’s ‘Green Deal Industrial Plan’, unveiled on Wednesday (1 February), promises simplified EU regulation for clean technologies, but critics say it lacks clarity and opens the door to unrestricted subsidies in France and Germany until the end of 2025.

The Commission’s new industrial plan comes in response to America’s $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which caused anxiety in Europe for inviting EU clean-tech companies to relocate production across the Atlantic. It is set to be discussed at an upcoming EU summit meeting on 9-10 February and 24-25 March.

But the vagueness of the Commission’s definition of clean technologies left many observers and industry groups wondering which industries will make it in the final cut.

This was the case with the nuclear industry. “It is good to see the Commission starting from the principle of technology neutrality,” said Yves Desbazeille, director general of Nuclear Europe, an industry group.

“We understand that work will now proceed on identifying the scope – here, we would strongly recommend using the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy as a starting point to ensure alignment between policies,” Desbazeille added.

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EurActiv, 2 Feb 2023: EU’s green industrial plan vague on clean tech, finance, critics say