Green Deal Industrial Plan by Bellona: A Commendable Venture Yet Lacking Crucial Climate Criteria - Emphasis on Hydrogen Economy
The European Commission has unveiled a Green Deal Industrial Plan, a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and supporting the fast transition to climate neutrality.
The plan consists of four pillars: a simpler regulatory framework, faster access to funding, enhancing skills, and open trade. The Communication plans to contribute to the acceleration of renewable energy deployment in the EU by simplifying regulations, minimizing bureaucratic burdens, and establishing a large-scale skills partnership for onshore renewable energy.
However, the proposal does not explicitly include crucial materials such as cement in the scope of "products that are key to meet our climate neutrality goals." This omission has raised concerns, as the cement industry is known for its CO2-intensive processes.
To address this issue, establishing clear standards that set thresholds for embodied carbon content in construction materials, together with mandatory green public procurement criteria, will send a clear signal for the creation of lead markets for low-carbon materials. A harmonized approach at EU level for embodied carbon requirements will ease the burden on industry players dealing with different legislation to that end, as some Member States already include embodied carbon provisions in national legislation (e.g., Denmark).
The Communication also acknowledges the role of European standards in rolling out new industrial value chains but fails to address building materials. Specific support mechanisms such as carbon contracts for difference are needed for various low-carbon products, including cement and steel. The European Commission aims to propose a Net-Zero Industry Act to identify goals for net-zero industrial capacity and provide a regulatory framework suited for its quick deployment.
The plan includes a wide variety of measures to simplify and accelerate the deployment of hydrogen. However, Europe must ensure that hydrogen is produced with additional resources to ensure it delivers the climate effects that we need. The Communication does not provide specific support mechanisms for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, which will play a key part in the decarbonisation of industries such as the cement sector.
The Hydrogen Bank uses funds from the Innovation Fund, making fewer funds available for capital expenditure-heavy activities like CCS. The Commission intends to extend the new competitive bidding mechanism for scaling up manufacturing of components for solar and wind energy. However, the Communication does not provide additional measures outside of the existing REPowerEU plan for extending and strengthening smart electricity grids to accommodate large quantities of renewable energy.
The Net-Zero Industry Act must ensure the highest level of harmonization across Member States and promote standardized LCA data collection in buildings. The organization that announced the Delegated Act on RFNBOs to enable the industrial sector to ensure climate protection through clear regulation and appropriate safeguards is the European Commission.
In summary, the Green Deal Industrial Plan is a significant step towards a net-zero carbon Europe. However, it is crucial to address the omission of crucial materials like cement and provide specific support mechanisms for CCS technology and building materials to achieve the desired climate goals.
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