EU ministers backed the recent ‘Fit for 55’ package to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 (see EUROPE 12764/10) and the circular economy concept to revitalise Europe’s textile and energy-intensive industries, at an informal meeting in Slovenia on Thursday 22 July.
The Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU had placed this meeting under the theme of the circular economy and had distributed a document detailing the specificities of the two ecosystems (see EUROPE 12766/14).
Regarding the textile industry, most interventions confirmed the need to introduce technical standards to help the sector reduce its environmental impact. Furthermore, a majority of ministers agreed on the need to regionalise value chains (i.e. relocate, as confirmed by a European source).
As for the energy-intensive industries, they must be able to benefit from a just transition, as the cost of the transition for them is likely to be particularly high, without which there is a risk of ‘carbon leakage’.
The need to revise the Emissions Trading Scheme and the role of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) were highlighted, but fully respecting World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. In addition, the issue of fair international access to scarce raw materials was addressed.
Kerstin Jorna, Director General of the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), who represented the Commissioner for the Internal Market, stressed at the press conference the need to increase the share of renewable energy and the issue of access to scarce raw materials (notably lithium and magnets). She reiterated the importance of diversifying sources of supply.
With regard to the textile sector, the senior European official expressed her concern that fewer and fewer young workers are turning to this sector. Furthermore, she insisted on the use of textile waste and on the need to invest in innovation (notably to separate fibres) to achieve greening.
“The waste of today is the raw material of tomorrow”, she said, also referring to electronic waste, stressing the importance of standards and certifications in this area to support this transition. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)