Renew Europe played a critical role in shaping the report on the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) adopted this week in the European Parliament Plenary session.  

The new regulation will lay strong foundations and incentives for European reindustrialisation in cleantech and, alongside the Critical Raw Materials Act, pave the way to European industrial sovereignty. 

Clear and predictable permitting processes and administrative support will encourage all industries contributing to decarbonisation to choose the EU for their next investments. 

“If we want our climate transition to succeed, we need to drastically expand our EU production of clean technologies. The Net Zero Industry Act will help us achieve this by supporting our innovative industries and facilitating permits, one of the major hurdles for industries to settle in Europe,” said Christophe Grudler MEP (MoDem, FR), Renew Europe shadow rapporteur on this file. 

Renew Europe also pushed for greater inclusion of the needs of SMEs, from reducing the administrative burden to facilitating the process of directing EU funds.  

Preparing workers for the job market of today and tomorrow by reskilling and upskilling them in the age of the green and digital transitions is key to fight unemployment. 

“Renew Europe is a strong advocate for the introduction of a mandatory social criteria in net zero industry projects and public procurement. This commitment aims to champion European companies and promote quality jobs that strive for equality and social justice,” said Marie-Pierre Vedrenne MEP (MoDem, France). 

Finally, the text clears the way towards greater coherence in the regulatory framework for carbon storage and insists on the role of innovation in clean technologies with high environmental standards. 

“The EU needs to accelerate the production of clean technologies such as wind turbines, energy efficiency and bio-based technologies to strengthen the competitiveness of net-zero technologies manufacturing in the EU. To succeed we need an ambitious framework with clear, predictable and faster permitting processes while ensuring environmental standards are kept,” said Erik Poulsen MEP (Venstre, DK).