High-Level Conference on steel and other energy-intensive industries
(From ec.europa.eu)
On Monday 15 February, European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska are hosting a High-Level Conference in Brussels on energy-intensive industries.
Energy-intensive industries - such as the steel, chemicals, cement, and ceramics sectors - account for a quarter of CO2 emissions in the EU.
Meeting emissions targets without hurting the competitiveness of these industries will require the introduction of breakthrough technologies. This requires more investment in innovation, particularly from the private sector. At EU level, there are a number of opportunities available, notably the €315 billion Investment Plan and the EU research funding programme Horizon 2020.
The conference will help identify specific research and innovation investment opportunities for these industries. It will also devote a session to ensuring free and fair trade, an area where the Commission is applying all trade defence instruments at its disposal. Finally, the potential for the circular economy to cut the costs for raw materials, energy and waste disposal will be discussed.
The conference will include keynotes by Emmanuel Macron, French Minister of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs, Anna Soubry, Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise of the United Kingdom, Henk Kamp, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands and Vazil Hudak, Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic.
The conference will be webstreamed.
More information