Adair Turner, Chair, the Energy Transitions Commission:
“This report confirms the finding of the Energy Transitions Commission’s Mission Possible report – that it is technically possible to achieve zero carbon emissions from heavy industry by 2050, at a very low cost to consumers and no cost to jobs. Europe should now grasp the economic opportunity which rapid progress towards full decarbonization will create”
Eliot Whittington, Director of Policy, the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership:
“This report clearly sets out that a zero greenhouse gas emissions future is not only possible for key industries in Europe, it is also achievable and affordable. It presents more clear evidence that the European Commission’s “A clean planet for all” strategy is the right vision for the EU, and that member states should commit to it and start exploring the required actions to deliver on it. For example, to realise the potential futures set out in the report will require resolve and innovative action on all sides. Business and policymakers will need to work together to answer critical questions such as how new circular economy business models can be created, how the cost of innovations in the industry will be shared and how much should Europe invest in CCS development.”
Mari Pantsar, Director of Carbon-neutral Circular Economy, Sitra:
“Transitioning to climate-neutrality in heavy industry can only be achieved by co-operation between all stakeholders of society. Finland launched its globally first-of-a-kind road map to a circular economy already in 2016. We are now offering our lessons and experiences as an example to explore the needed transition pathways”
Per Klevnäs, Partner, Material Economics:
“EU industrial companies have a major journey ahead. Net-zero emissions by 2050 are possible, as this report shows, but only with unstinting effort to put low-CO2 transformation at the heart of the corporate strategy. Few EU companies now believe that the status quo is a good place to be, and leading companies are already making significant progress to be the first with a low-CO2 offering to their customers. Policymakers now need to catch up, ensuring that investment and commitment to low-CO2 production and innovation become the profitable choice.”
Sira Saccani, Director, Sustainable Production Systems, EIT Climate-KIC:
“As the reports published today outline, there are multiple industrial pathways and strategies which the EU could pursue to achieve Net-Zero Emissions from EU Heavy Industry by 2050. Time is short and we think that a more circular economy with greater material efficiency, reducing the need for new material production, shall be accelerated through further innovation and financial investments. This will be a large part of the answer to reduce emissions from industry to net-zero by 2050.”
Tomas Wyns, Doctoral Researcher, Institute for European Studies:
“An Industrial Strategy for Climate Neutrality will entail a consistent and coordinated set of actions and instruments from different policy areas and different levels of EU governance. Its goal is to nurture new processes, products, value chains and business models, some of which either don’t exist yet or are far from mature but will be essential to achieve net-zero emissions.”