Race to the Top for Climate

The report argues that while US and EU cooperation on carbon pricing and tariffs (such as GASSA and CBAM) has stalled due to diverging political visions, a 'softer' path to alignment is possible. This approach prioritizes cooperation on 'carrots' like R&D and green public procurement, and 'sticks' like the harmonization of carbon standards. The study recommends expanding collaboration beyond hydrogen and carbon capture to include circular economy practices and industrial electrification, utilizing platforms like the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) to avoid duplication and establish common technology standards.

• Transatlantic cooperation on industrial decarbonization is currently hindered by fundamentally different approaches to price signals: the EU relies on carbon pricing (EU ETS and CBAM), while the US focuses on domestic production incentives via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This divergence led to the impasse of the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum (GASSA).
• A 'soft' policy alignment strategy is recommended, which bypasses contentious issues like carbon pricing to focus on supply-push and demand-pull initiatives. This includes R&D coordination, green public procurement, and the harmonization of standards for carbon requirements.
• Current R&D collaboration is extensive but imbalanced, with an overrepresentation of hydrogen compared to other critical areas like circular economy practices and advanced manufacturing. The report suggests reviewing existing programs to avoid duplication and adopting common technology standards.
• Green public procurement (GPP) is a high-potential area for alignment, though it is currently limited by a lack of dedicated US-EU dialogue platforms and friction over US local content requirements in the IRA.
• There is a significant opportunity to align information tools and product transparency mechanisms, such as the EU's Digital Product Passports and the US Federal Buy Clean Initiative, to drive demand for sustainable products through uniform standards.
• Cooperation on circular economy practices is currently limited, with the EU focusing on regulatory frameworks (CEAP 2.0) and the US prioritizing infrastructure and financing. The report recommends establishing transatlantic innovation hubs to support startups in this field.
• Industrial electrification is recognized as vital by both regions—with the US targeting 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035—but lacks extensive collaborative frameworks. Future efforts should focus on common targets and standards.

APA

Lipiński, M., Sands, A., Stefańczyk, A., Śniegocki, A., Wrona, A., Czaplicka-Kotas, A., Laskowski, K., & Wetmańska, Z. (2024). Race to the Top for Climate. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SUMMARY-Race-to-the-Top-for-Climate-1.pdf

Chicago

Lipiński, Maciej, Anna Sands, Aneta Stefańczyk, Aleksander Śniegocki, Adrianna Wrona, Agnieszka Czaplicka-Kotas, Kamil Laskowski, and Zofia Wetmańska. Race to the Top for Climate. Climate Strategies, 2024. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SUMMARY-Race-to-the-Top-for-Climate-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lipiński |first1=Maciej |last2=Sands |first2=Anna |last3=Stefańczyk |first3=Aneta |last4=Śniegocki |first4=Aleksander |last5=Wrona |first5=Adrianna |last6=Czaplicka-Kotas |first6=Agnieszka |last7=Laskowski |first7=Kamil |last8=Wetmańska |first8=Zofia |title=Race to the Top for Climate |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=2024 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SUMMARY-Race-to-the-Top-for-Climate-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lipiski2024race, author = {Lipiński, Maciej and Sands, Anna and Stefańczyk, Aneta and Śniegocki, Aleksander and Wrona, Adrianna and Czaplicka-Kotas, Agnieszka and Laskowski, Kamil and Wetmańska, Zofia}, title = {{Race to the Top for Climate}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2024}, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SUMMARY-Race-to-the-Top-for-Climate-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }