Clean and Competitive Energy and Industry

The document outlines a strategy for Europe to move from crisis response to sustained implementation of clean energy and industrial transitions. It identifies six priority solutions—industrial electrification, clean fuels, cross-border energy corridors, streamlined permitting, de-risking finance, and tripartite platforms—to reduce fossil fuel import dependency and lower energy costs. The report emphasizes that structural reforms and coordinated public-private action are essential to maintain competitiveness, particularly for energy-intensive industries.

• Europe's industrial competitiveness is severely hindered by energy prices that are structurally higher than those of major competitors, with gas prices between 2023 and 2026 remaining four times higher than in the US and roughly twice as high as in China.
• Industrial electrification is identified as one of the highest-impact opportunities for Europe, with commercially available technologies capable of electrifying over 60% of industrial process heat demand today, potentially rising to 79% by 2040.
• The implementation of regulatory mandates and policy targets for clean fuels—including hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), biomethane, and maritime fuels—could avoid between €34 billion and €63 billion in annual fossil fuel import costs from 2030 to 2040.
• Developing cross-border clean-energy corridors for electricity, hydrogen, and CO2 transport could generate annual system and infrastructure savings of €11 billion to €25 billion by 2040.
• Harmonizing and streamlining permitting processes through EU baselines and mutual recognition could reduce project development costs by 2% to 5%, resulting in annual savings of €4.4 billion to €11 billion for the power sector pipeline by 2040.
• De-risking financing and reducing the cost of capital for renewable power generation projects could unlock approximately €12.4 billion in annual cost savings.
• Tripartite platforms that align demand, supply, and policy could lead to a 30% reduction in the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for offshore wind by 2040, potentially saving €12 billion to €28 billion annually.
• Energy-intensive industries in the EU have seen significant declines, with chemical production in 2024 being 15% lower than 2014 levels and steel production falling by 20% between 2018 and 2024.
• The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) has contributed to a 50% fall in emissions from covered sectors since 2005, and without it, the EU would consume an additional 100 billion cubic metres of gas.

APA

World Economic Forum (n.d.). Clean and Competitive Energy and Industry. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_and_Competitive_Energy_and_Industry_2026.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Clean and Competitive Energy and Industry. n.d. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_and_Competitive_Energy_and_Industry_2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Clean and Competitive Energy and Industry |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_and_Competitive_Energy_and_Industry_2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforumndclean, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Clean and Competitive Energy and Industry}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Clean_and_Competitive_Energy_and_Industry_2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }