Staying with the leaders

The document examines Europe's position within a global 'leading group' of countries advancing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carbon pricing. It argues that staying in this group is essential for Europe to attract investment, drive innovation, and reduce dependence on energy imports. The authors contend that energy prices are not the primary driver of global competitiveness for most industries, as 92% of German manufacturing spends less than 1.6% of revenue on energy. For the small minority of energy-intensive sectors, the report asserts that price differentials are primarily caused by natural resource endowments rather than climate policies, and that existing 'Carbon Leakage' protections in the EU ETS mitigate competitive risks. The report concludes that a coordinated European low-carbon strategy can create net-employment gains and maintain international credibility in climate negotiations.

• Europe is part of a global group of countries implementing climate policies, though leadership varies by sector. While some European countries excel in building energy efficiency, Japan and South Korea have more comprehensive industrial energy efficiency programs. In the transport sector, Japan historically had the strictest fuel efficiency standards, with 5.1 litres per 100 km for new vehicles in 2011.
• Renewable energy deployment is expanding rapidly outside of Europe. In 2012, 70% of new wind power capacity and 42% of all photovoltaic modules installed in 2013 were located outside Europe, led by China and the United States.
• Energy prices are not a primary determinant of international economic competitiveness. According to the World Economic Forum's competitiveness indicator, innovative capacity is weighted at 15%, while electricity infrastructure is weighted at only 1%. In Germany, 92% of manufacturing industries spend an average of less than 1.6% of their revenue on energy bills.
• For the 8% of manufacturing industries that are energy-intensive (spending more than 6% of revenue on energy), price differences are driven by resource endowments rather than climate policy. For example, the shale gas boom in the United States significantly lowered gas prices there compared to Europe, a gap likely to persist due to differences in resource bases.
• Transitioning to a low-carbon economy can improve energy security and create jobs. EU Member States spend €350 billion annually on energy imports; substituting these with domestic renewables could reduce the import bill by €160 billion by 2030 and €550 billion by 2050. Additionally, a study by DIW Berlin suggests energy efficiency investments in Germany could create up to 180,000 jobs by 2020.
• The EU ETS uses 'Carbon Leakage' lists to protect energy-intensive sectors from competitive disadvantages. These lists allow for the free allocation of allowances for sectors facing direct CO2 emission costs and provide mechanisms for Member States to compensate manufacturers indirectly affected by electricity price increases.

APA

Neuhoff, K., Acworth, W., Dechezleprêtre, A., Dröge, S., Sartor, O., Sato, M., Schleicher, S., & Schopp, A. (2014). Staying with the leaders. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/staying-with-the-leaders-final-2.pdf

Chicago

Neuhoff, Karsten, William Acworth, Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Susanne Dröge, Oliver Sartor, Misato Sato, Stefan Schleicher, and Anne Schopp. Staying with the leaders. Climate Strategies, 2014. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/staying-with-the-leaders-final-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Neuhoff |first1=Karsten |last2=Acworth |first2=William |last3=Dechezleprêtre |first3=Antoine |last4=Dröge |first4=Susanne |last5=Sartor |first5=Oliver |last6=Sato |first6=Misato |last7=Schleicher |first7=Stefan |last8=Schopp |first8=Anne |title=Staying with the leaders |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=February 2014 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/staying-with-the-leaders-final-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{neuhoff2014staying, author = {Neuhoff, Karsten and Acworth, William and Dechezleprêtre, Antoine and Dröge, Susanne and Sartor, Oliver and Sato, Misato and Schleicher, Stefan and Schopp, Anne}, title = {{Staying with the leaders}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/staying-with-the-leaders-final-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }