EU Council adopts position on Net-Zero Industry Act

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The EU Council on Thursday adopted its position on the Net-Zero Industry Act, a proposed legislation setting a framework of measures to promote Europe's net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem.

The draft regulation aims to speed up the deployment of critical technologies required to support the transition to climate neutrality, while also leveraging the power of the single market to strengthen Europe's economic resilience and competitiveness, the council said in a statement.

"With the Net-Zero Industry Act, the European Union aims at achieving a global leadership in the green transition, using the technologies of the future to boost the competitiveness of our industry, create quality jobs and reinforce our open strategic sovereignty," said Spain's Industry and Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu Boher.

The act aims to streamline investment in certain key technologies by simplifying permit-granting procedures and prioritizing strategic projects, according to the statement.

Additionally, it seeks to increase market access to these strategic technology products, improve the skills of the European workforce in these promising sectors, and establish a platform to coordinate EU efforts in this area.

The Net-Zero Industry Act outlines the goal of achieving 40% of production to meet the EU's strategic technology product needs, such as solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, batteries, and heat pumps.

The proposal establishes a specific target for CO2 carbon capture and storage, with a minimum annual injection capacity of 50 million tons of CO2 to be achieved by 2030.