The law sets out for the Union to produce at least 40% of the technology needed to reach emission targets domestically.
As part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the EU aims to scale up the domestic production of key technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, and heat pumps under the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) proposed last year (PDF). Later today, representatives of the European Union, Commission, and Parliament will convene to discuss the initiative’s details in the presumably final trilogue as part of the long road to legislation.
The NZIA seeks to establish a legal framework that supports the EU’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and the transition to climate neutrality by 2050. It sets out, among other elements, for the EU to produce at least 40% of the technology it needs to achieve these targets by 2030 domestically and is seen as a response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. In addition, the proposed law aims to speed up permitting and increase access to finance for clean tech. Christian Ehler, rapporteur on the Net-Zero Industry Act trilogue negotiations, will hold a press conference today scheduled at 5 pm CET to inform on the progress.
According to Reuters, the third trilogue will focus on how widely clean tech can be interpreted to incorporate nuclear power, for example, and how permitting phases can be shortened. However, there is room for debate. The German Bundesverband WindEnergie, an association of members of the German wind industry, said in a statement ahead of the meeting that “a differentiation between wind energy and photovoltaics, in particular, is essential in order to take account of the fundamentally different starting conditions of the two technologies.” [Translation Rawmaterials.net]. The association emphasizes that the NZIA must adopt targeted measures fitted to each branch of clean tech instead of lumping them all together.
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