Confirming the Green Deal as Europe’s growth and security engine, providing much needed clarity and stability to industries and citizens

17 June 2024

JOINT STATEMENT

ACI EUROPE joins the undersigned stakeholders (companies, associations, local entities, NGOs and others) in an urgent call on EU leaders to confirm the Green Deal as the foundation for a competitive, secure, modern and efficient Europe during the next EU mandate.

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The Green Deal has set the EU on a path to sustainable growth, and has proven to be robust and convincing in challenging times. The continuing Russian aggression in Ukraine, the resulting fossil fuel crisis, as well as the increasingly dire impacts from climate change in Europe, have confirmed the Green Deal as essential to the EU’s security, competitiveness, and social welfare objectives. The fossil fuel crisis catapulted Europe into a new paradigm. The energy trilemma of sustainability, affordability, and security of supply now clearly points in one direction: delivering and completing the Green Deal – replacing fossil fuels and shifting to a sustainable, circular and just economy – is essential to all of Europe’s strategic objectives.

According to the IEA1, EU electricity consumers saved an estimated EUR 100 billion during 2021-2023 thanks to an acceleration in renewables and electrification. And the world’s clean technology value chains will be worth over €600 billion by 2030. No action on climate change, on the other hand, could lead to a 10% loss in global GDP by mid-century.

The EU Green Deal is the best strategy for securing Europe’s prosperity and competitiveness, providing badly-needed coherence and regulatory stability to Europe’s businesses and citizens. The undersigned companies and stakeholders, therefore, ask EU leaders to:

Confirm the EU Green Deal as a top priority in the next EU Strategic Agenda, and complement it with a Clean Industrial Deal that is in line with the Green Deal objectives;
Align all EU financial instruments with the Green Deal objectives for 2030 and beyond, including establishing a new Clean Industrial Deal Investment Plan as part of the next EU budget; supporting cities and regions in the transition;
Appoint an Executive Vice-President for both the Green and Industrial Deals to ensure both competitiveness and decarbonisation objectives are met in the most efficient way.

We call on EU leaders to use the next 5 years of their mandate to act on its Green Deal commitments. We have 20 seasons to take our fate in hand and advance towards a competitive, secure and democratic Europe. Let’s not gamble on our future, let’s build it!

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1 IEA (2023), Renewable Energy Market Update, June report; [2] IEA (2023), Energy Technology Perspectives 2023; [3] IIASA (2024), What are the economic costs of climate inaction

Press release ACI Europe