Creating a Clean Industry in Central and Eastern Europe: Recommendations for EU and National Governments

The document argues that Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are heavily reliant on carbon-intensive heavy industries but possess significant potential for clean industry due to renewable energy resources and carbon dioxide storage. It calls for EU industrial policy to shift toward a place-based approach that supports countries with high deployment potential regardless of their current innovation track record. Key recommendations for the EU include revising the Public Procurement Directive to include lifecycle emissions and redesigning the Innovation Fund for first-of-a-kind national deployments. For CEE national governments, the statement recommends earmarking EU ETS revenues for climate action, implementing Carbon Contracts for Difference, and conducting integrated infrastructure planning for hydrogen and carbon dioxide transport.

• Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies are more dependent on heavy industries than the EU average, and these industries are more carbon-intensive, with slow decarbonisation progress attributed to limited national public funding, inadequate climate policy frameworks, and limited institutional capacity.
• The CEE region is well-positioned to supply decarbonised industrial products, such as chemicals, cement, and primary and secondary steel, because of its available manufacturing capacities, carbon dioxide storage potential, and renewable energy resources.
• To prevent industrial redevelopment from concentrating solely in Western countries, the EU should adopt a place-based approach in the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act and redesign the Innovation Fund to support cost-effective measures that are first-of-a-kind at a national level, even in countries with low innovation potential.
• The EU Public Procurement Directive should be revised to include circularity and lifecycle emissions criteria, which would help protect CEE industries from carbon leakage, particularly in countries bordering the EU, and support the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
• National governments in the CEE region are urged to earmark EU ETS revenues for climate action, use Carbon Contracts for Difference to provide investor certainty on carbon or input prices, and cooperate regionally on infrastructure for electricity, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide transport.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2025). Creating a Clean Industry in Central and Eastern Europe: Recommendations for EU and National Governments. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/09085045/Joint-Statement_Creating-a-clean-industry-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Creating a Clean Industry in Central and Eastern Europe: Recommendations for EU and National Governments. 2025. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/09085045/Joint-Statement_Creating-a-clean-industry-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Creating a Clean Industry in Central and Eastern Europe: Recommendations for EU and National Governments |date=1 January 2025 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/09085045/Joint-Statement_Creating-a-clean-industry-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cleanairtaskforce2025creating, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Creating a Clean Industry in Central and Eastern Europe: Recommendations for EU and National Governments}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/09085045/Joint-Statement_Creating-a-clean-industry-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }