A Climate-Neutral Industry: Status of policy debate in European Member States

The document examines the progress of five EU Member States in developing policies for a climate-neutral industry. It finds that while most have set 2030 targets, these are generally conservative and focused on energy efficiency. The Netherlands and Germany are the most advanced, implementing specific incentives for advanced technologies, whereas Hungary, Poland, and Spain remain largely in the agenda-setting and policy-formulation stages. The brief emphasizes the need for a predictable legal environment and harmonized EU policies to avoid distorted competition in the basic materials sector.

• Most analyzed EU Member States have set 2030 emission reduction or energy efficiency targets for industry, but these are considered conservative and not aligned with the long-term goal of net zero emissions. Only Spain and the Netherlands have already formulated net zero-carbon strategies for 2050.
• There is a significant disparity in policy maturity across the studied countries. The Netherlands is the most advanced, with many measures in the decision-making and implementation phases. Germany is primarily in the policy formulation and decision-making stages, while Hungary, Spain, and Poland are mostly at the agenda-setting and policy-formulation stages.
• In Hungary, Poland, and Spain, existing or planned 2030 instruments are limited to energy efficiency improvements. Only Germany and the Netherlands are introducing or planning incentives for advanced industrial processes and technologies.
• Industry is often underrepresented in National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) because the binding structure of these plans prioritizes energy consumption areas like electricity, heat, and transport. Consequently, industry-related measures are often relegated to sections on energy efficiency or research and innovation.
• Companies in the basic materials sector identify several priority policy needs to facilitate the transition, including the establishment of carbon border adjustment mechanisms to ensure a level playing field, financial support for cost-intensive transitions, and the harmonization of product carbon footprint calculations across the EU.
• The Climate Friendly Materials (CFM) Platform recommends a specific policy package to achieve industrial decarbonisation: 'Contracts for Differences (CCfD)' for innovative low-carbon investments, a 'climate contribution' to prevent carbon leakage, 'Product Carbon Requirements' to ban high-carbon products, and 'Green Public Procurement'.

APA

Bartek-Lesi, M., Horváth, G., & Felsmann, B. (2020). A Climate-Neutral Industry: Status of policy debate in European Member States. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Climate-Neutral-Industry.pdf

Chicago

Bartek-Lesi, Mária, Gábor Horváth, and Balázs Felsmann. A Climate-Neutral Industry: Status of policy debate in European Member States. Climate Strategies, 2020. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Climate-Neutral-Industry.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bartek-Lesi |first1=Mária |last2=Horváth |first2=Gábor |last3=Felsmann |first3=Balázs |title=A Climate-Neutral Industry: Status of policy debate in European Member States |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=October 2020 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Climate-Neutral-Industry.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{barteklesi2020climateneutral, author = {Bartek-Lesi, Mária and Horváth, Gábor and Felsmann, Balázs}, title = {{A Climate-Neutral Industry: Status of policy debate in European Member States}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Climate-Neutral-Industry.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }