Building demand for decarbonised products of heavy industry in the EU

The report argues that while supply-side subsidies and carbon pricing are necessary, they are insufficient to close the cost gap for near-zero emissions industrial products. It recommends that the EU implement harmonised embodied carbon labelling and mandatory procurement quotas for decarbonised materials in high-impact sectors such as construction, automotive, and food retail to create stable lead markets.

• Heavy industry in the EU, including steel, cement, chemicals, and refining, emits over 500 million tonnes of CO2 annually, which represents 20% of the EU's total CO2 emissions.
• Decarbonising heavy industry involves significant cost increases; near-zero emissions steel can cost up to 75% more and cement up to 125% more than unabated production, with some first-mover cement projects potentially seeing increases of up to 200%.
• The report suggests that the cost of decarbonised material inputs has a relatively small impact on the final price of end-use products, typically increasing costs by only 0.5-3% for items like buildings, cars, and packaging.
• To enable demand-side drivers, the EU should establish harmonised methodologies and labelling protocols for embodied carbon, including specific 'near-zero emission' and 'lower-emission' categories based on thresholds like clinker and scrap content.
• Public procurement is a significant lever for demand, accounting for 14% of EU GDP in 2019; in Germany, it represents 23% of total cement demand and 5% of total steel demand.
• The report identifies several high-potential sectors for private sector demand-side mandates: construction (cement and steel), automotive (steel and polypropylene), food retail (fertilisers), and packaging (plastics).

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2025). Building demand for decarbonised products of heavy industry in the EU. https://www.catf.us/resource/building-demand-for-decarbonised-products-of-heavy-industry-in-the-european-union/

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Building demand for decarbonised products of heavy industry in the EU. 2025. https://www.catf.us/resource/building-demand-for-decarbonised-products-of-heavy-industry-in-the-european-union/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Building demand for decarbonised products of heavy industry in the EU |date=7 October 2025 |url=https://www.catf.us/resource/building-demand-for-decarbonised-products-of-heavy-industry-in-the-european-union/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2025building, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Building demand for decarbonised products of heavy industry in the EU}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.catf.us/resource/building-demand-for-decarbonised-products-of-heavy-industry-in-the-european-union/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }