Three principles to close the gaps in the EU's net-zero industry plans

The authors argue that the EU's current net-zero industry plans are insufficient and propose broadening the scope to include basic material production, introducing a charge on basic materials to raise approximately €50 billion annually for a sovereign wealth fund, and implementing a governance framework that links funding to national reform agendas.

• The authors argue that the Net-Zero Industry Act should be expanded to include basic material production and circular usage, as two-thirds of industrial emissions are linked to basic material production.
• There is a funding gap for the industry transition because the phase-out of free carbon allocations lasts until at least 2035, delaying full carbon pricing on basic materials and reducing auction revenue.
• The authors propose a charge on basic materials—such as aluminium, cement clinker, steel, or high-value chemicals—which could generate €50 billion in annual EU-scale funding in 2025, assuming an EU ETS price of 75 €/tCO2.
• To address unequal financial capacity and delays in national reforms, the authors suggest that the EU sovereignty fund should require Member States to present a coherent reform agenda covering green manufacturing, industrial decarbonization, and circular material use.

APA

Neuhoff, K., Engström, M., Gerres, T., Kucuk, M., Linares, P., & Sniegocki, A. (2023). Three principles to close the gaps in the EU's net-zero industry plans. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/three-principles-to-close-the-gaps-in-the-eus-net-zero-industry-plans/

Chicago

Neuhoff, Karsten, Mats Engström, Timo Gerres, Merve Kucuk, Pedro Linares, and Aleksander Sniegocki. Three principles to close the gaps in the EU's net-zero industry plans. Climate Strategies, 2023. https://climatestrategies.org/three-principles-to-close-the-gaps-in-the-eus-net-zero-industry-plans/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Neuhoff |first1=Karsten |last2=Engström |first2=Mats |last3=Gerres |first3=Timo |last4=Kucuk |first4=Merve |last5=Linares |first5=Pedro |last6=Sniegocki |first6=Aleksander |title=Three principles to close the gaps in the EU's net-zero industry plans |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=12 June 2023 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/three-principles-to-close-the-gaps-in-the-eus-net-zero-industry-plans/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{neuhoff2023three, author = {Neuhoff, Karsten and Engström, Mats and Gerres, Timo and Kucuk, Merve and Linares, Pedro and Sniegocki, Aleksander}, title = {{Three principles to close the gaps in the EU's net-zero industry plans}}, publisher = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/three-principles-to-close-the-gaps-in-the-eus-net-zero-industry-plans/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }