Finance

Where is industry in addressing Europe’s climate and energy obligations?

The European Commission published its proposals to revise its array of clean energy legislation. Informally, the proposals are known as the Winter Package. It proposed a new energy saving target for 2030 - 30%, up from 27% and now binding instead of indicative. The package is now going through the approval process within the European Parliament and the European Council (ministers from member states) The impact assessment that supported the proposals showed that the reductions in industry by 2030 range from 0.5% to 12% compared to the baseline. There are some non-legislative initiatives that could be good for industry. The EU must give the right signals that it will do all possible to help its industrial sector maintain its competitive edge. Improving how it uses energy is fundamental as new technologies and techniques are coming to market all the time. We hope that changes as there is increased awareness that industry should not be neglected, writes Andrew Hammond, he adds, he writes.