The report by Christian Ehler (EPP, German) on the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) continues to be the subject of intense negotiations in the European Parliament’s Industry Committee (ITRE). The members of the ITRE Committee could vote on a text on 25 October, rather than on 12 October as initially planned.
According to two sources close to the matter, a compromise seems to be emerging on the list of technologies included in the act. Among the ‘net-zero emission’ technologies listed, MEPs no longer wish to distinguish, at this stage, those that are “strategic” by means of a separate list. On the other hand, the idea of strategic projects that benefit from more advantages is maintained. Their eligibility must be based on a series of defined criteria. The negotiators hope to reach a final agreement on these criteria at a meeting on Tuesday 12 September.
For the time being, the idea of linking the strategic aspect of projects to their contribution to the EU’s resilience, to the EU’s decarbonisation objectives or to their sustainable implementation could meet with the agreement of the majority of groups, according to one source.
The list of technologies on which the European Parliament negotiators are working is, at this stage, fairly broad and includes nuclear power. According to our information, only the Greens/EFA group is opposed to this inclusion. This list still needs to be tightened up, so as not to leave too much room for interpretation, according to some groups.
The question of the resources available to support the NZIA’s objectives is also still open. The text’s rapporteur, Christian Ehler, had initially proposed allocating 25% of the revenue from the Emissions Trading System (ETS) to support the NZIA. This proposal is still under discussion, especially as the proposal for a Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), which provides funding for strategic projects, is being debated in parallel (see other news). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)