The Art of the (Clean Industrial) Deal – enabling a clean and competitive EU industry

25 February 2025 - Blog post - By : Ciarán HUMPHREYS / Lena STÜDELI / Matthias DUWE

In the face of geopolitical shifts, not least those driven by the second Trump administration, the EU needs to secure its own green industrial base and foster new alliances. The European Commission’ proposal for a Clean Industrial Deal, central to its new competitiveness agenda, needs to spell out how Europe will create the enabling conditions to transform Europe’s industrial landscape to this end.

 

Central to success of the Clean Industrial Deal is a thriving cleantech manufacturing base, which can help Europe reduce emissions, create quality jobs, and enhance economic resilience. Analysis from the European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) reveals critical challenges for EU industry that can inform policy-making under the Clean Industrial Deal.

 

Draghi: EU competitiveness needs a coordinated push for the green transition

The manufacturing sector – a historic driver of economic growth – is now central to energy, climate, and economic policies. Nations are competing to harness clean technology manufacturing for economic security, jobs, and resilient energy transitions. As the world’s largest economies are deploying public funds and institutional resources to build up domestic cleantech manufacturing capacity, now is the time for Europe to make a coordinated effort to keep up.

 

It was already back in July, in her speech on the Political Guidelines for 2024-2029 that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the Clean Industrial Deal as the cornerstone of the first 100 days of her second term. She was responding to a growing number of voices, from national capitals, industry leaders and unions, concerned over investments moving away from Europe, plant closures and job losses. In September, Mario Draghi’s landmark report  made clear the urgent need for action, built on three core pillars: 1) to closing the innovation gap with the US and China, 2) integrating decarbonisation and competitiveness into a coordinated industrial strategy as well as 3) focusing on security and reducing dependencies.

 

The Clean Industrial Deal is thus informed by the understanding that EU competitiveness correlates with a continued and coordinated effort to implementing a just, green transition. To succeed, Europe needs a sound understanding of current bottlenecks and specific areas for targeted policy intervention. This is central to the mission and work of the ECNO. 

 

Read the blog post on ECNO

I4CE Contacts
Ciarán HUMPHREYS
Ciarán HUMPHREYS
Research Fellow – Cleantech, Financial instruments for climate innovation Email
To learn more
  • 06/13/2025 Foreword of the week
    The unlocked potential of carbon revenues to help fill the climate finance gap

    Climate negotiations are taking place next week in Bonn, with finance once again high on the agenda. COP 29 ended last year with a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) –revised climate finance target to replace the USD 100 billion goal. The NCQG decision put forward a commitment by developed countries to lead in providing USD 300 billion per year by 2035 for developing countries, as well as a proposal to work on a roadmap to scale up climate finance for developing countries to reach a level closer to the estimated needs –the ‘Baku to Belem Roadmap to 1.3T’ (USD 1.3 trillion). The latter must be delivered at the end of the year at COP 30, and strong efforts are being put in the task by the Brazilian Presidency.

  • 06/11/2025
    Global carbon accounts 2025

    This 2025 edition of the Global Carbon Accounts presents a landscape of carbon pricing instruments through the lens of their current and potential contribution to scale up climate and development finance. Several jurisdictions are already using carbon revenues to support a range of policy objectives, including decarbonization efforts and support for economic actors most affected by the transition. Yet there is still potential for them to further contribute to fill the gap.

  • 06/06/2025 Foreword of the week
    Halfway to 2030, the EU needs a climate investment boost

    In a challenging geo-political context, Europe has a window of opportunity to lead on both climate action and industrial competitiveness. As Mario Draghi highlighted in his report last year, this can only happen if decarbonisation ambitions are backed by real investment – and there is an urgent need to boost those investment. The European Commission followed suit and pledged to be an “Investment Commission,” while reaffirming its commitment to implement the 2030 emission reduction targets and to stay to course on the longer-term targets.

See all publications
Press contact Amélie FRITZ Head of Communication and press relations Email
Subscribe to our mailing list :
I register !
Subscribe to our newsletter
Once a week, receive all the information on climate economics
I register !
Fermer