2023-09-06 17:27:16
The European Union is not behind in the international race for clean technologies, despite fears of a loss of competitiveness.
While China is a clear leader in deploying clean technologies, the EU is not far behind, according to a new study published by Strategic Perspectives, a think tank focused on climate action.
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The European Union had the largest share of wind and solar power generation among the world’s major economies last year.
The EU is also the region that uses the most electric cars per capita, compared to other major economies. It is ahead of its competitors in terms of investment in heat pumps, an alternative to gas, coal and fuel oil boilers.
The report provides an unprecedented comparison of the deployment of green technologies in five major economies: China, the European Union, the United States, Japan and India.
The authors argue that by investing in green technologies, countries can boost their competitiveness and secure social and economic benefits for their populations.
The study commends the EU for launching “at the right time“The Green Deal, an ambitious set of policies to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This plan has helped strengthen the Union’s position vis-à-vis China, a powerful producer of solar panels and electric vehicles.
The Union must, however,increase national production and financial support for these technologies in the coming years“, under penalty of being left behind, warns the study.
The data also confirms that the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $369 billion program of tax credits and rebates introduced by President Joe Biden to encourage domestic production of green technologies , can boost the economic performance of the United States.
The American plan fuels fears that European companies will move to the other side of the Atlantic to benefit from the generous subsidies, which would deal a fatal blow to the Union’s competitiveness and its role as world leader in matter of climate action.
The panic is such that the European Commission has been forced to draw up a new industrial strategy in record time in order to significantly increase the national production of green technologies and reduce the administrative burden. This strategy, which is still under negotiation, completes a legal framework that makes it easier for Member States to inject subsidies into the green economy.
According to Strategic Perspectives, the Green Deal “could become the best strategic response to the multiple crises facing Europe, improving its energy security, restoring its competitiveness and protecting households against high energy bills“.
Linda Kalcher, director of Strategic Perspectives, told Euronews: “It’s really up to the next Commission to take the Green Deal up a gear“.
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“It’s critical that they (the 27) scale up, especially as we’ve seen how the Cut Inflation Act has brought the United States back into the limelight.“, she continues, “there is a real threat that the EU will not measure up to the United States“.
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