Preventing Irreversible Deindustrialisation: Europe Must Act Now on Energy and Carbon Costs
Europe needs competitive energy-intensive industries
Energy-intensive industries (EIIs) form the backbone of critical and strategic value chains that underpin the EU economy and society, including transport, construction, power generation, batteries, semiconductors, food security and defence. They are indispensable to the energy and digital transitions, industrial decarbonisation, tackling the housing crisis and safeguarding the EU’s strategic autonomy. In the EU, EIIs represent a turnover of over 1.5 trillion € and 6.6 million direct employees.
Against this backdrop, and ahead of the informal meeting of EU leaders on competitiveness scheduled for 12 February, EIIs call on the EU to take needed immediate action:
- Cut total energy costs for Energy Intensive Industries
- Stop any increase in carbon costs in 2026
- Tackling unfair trade practices and economic security threats related to EIIs
- Creating demand for “products proudly made in Europe”
Priority must be given to addressing rising carbon price and costs and persistently high energy prices and costs, while swiftly implementing the measures announced under the Clean Industrial Deal, notably on trade defence.