(Sustainabilityenvironment.com) – The CEOs of energy-intensive industries require organisation and a clear roadmap for the ecological transition. On the occasion of the vote of the European Parliament on the mechanism of adjustment of imported emissions (carbon border adjustment mechanism, cbam) and European emissions market (emissions trading scheme, ets). Ahead of the plenary, some 300 CEOs of energy-intensive companies signed an open letter.
The signatures represent 400 European companies covering many sectors, for a total of about 2.6 million jobs. Among the signatories, also the Italian Borrmioli and Arvedi, the Cartiere Saci and Confindustria Ceramica, on behalf of the 86 companies it represents.
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The appeal was presented by a team of large companies including the European steel giants, Solvay, Villeroy & Boch and Repsol. At the heart of the CEOs concerns the international competition of companies not binding on climate commitments made by the European Union.
The text also mentions the negative impact of the measures taken specifically for the green technology industrial sectors. The increase in carbon costs, parallel to the need for funds for decarbonisation, say CEOs, would reduce the resources for investments towards the ecological transition, cutting free allowances ets. This, according to the CEOs, will have the effect of slowing down the reduction of emissions instead of accelerating it and, consequently, delaying the take-off of technologies for sustainability.
The open letter also denounces the fear of an exponential increase in imports of low-cost products and high ecological footprint, for collaborations with other countries not bound by transition commitments such as India, Turkey and China. According to companies, in fact, in 2021 there was a growth of 32% of steel imports from these