Confindustria calls for more public funds for anti-China energy policies
In anticipation of the G7 ministerial meeting in Turin, Confindustria is calling for more public-private collaboration on investments for the energy transition and more attention to the risk of dependence on China. All the details
Confindustria, the association of Italian manufacturing and service companies, has called for "more investments, more collaboration between public and private and more convergence" between the industrial policies for the energy transition of the G7 countries. The G7 is the group that brings together seven of the main developed economies on the planet: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, Canada and Italy (which currently holds the presidency).
Confindustria's recommendations are set out in a note drawn up together with Deloitte on the occasion of the G7 ministerial summit on energy, environment and climate which will be held in Turin between 28 and 30 April. On April 28, also in Turin, there will also be the conference of the B7 , the business community of the G7 countries.
CONFINDUSTRIA WANTS MORE SYNERGIES BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
Katia Da Ros, vice president for the environment and sustainability of Confindustria, said that we need to "transform the ecological transition into a great opportunity for innovation and competitive development". To do this, according to him, it is "fundamental to create synergies between public and private, promoting an approach to the transition based on technological neutrality and on stimulating investments in the circular economy, capable of combining environmental protection, security of supply and competitiveness".
It is a vision close to that of Giorgia Meloni's government, which in fact insists a lot on the concept of technological neutrality – in controversy with the climate policies of the European Commission -, that is, the principle according to which all the technologies available for decarbonization, and not just some.
PNRR MONEY FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION
The PNRR, the economic transformation plan which is part of the European Next Generation EU programme,allocates 59.4 billion euros for the ecological transition: the money will go to stimulate the development of renewable sources and hydrogen, the strengthening of the electricity grid , the circular economy, low-emission mobility, the energy efficiency of buildings and the protection of water resources.
In total, the PNRR is worth 191.5 billion euros; the second mission – the one dedicated to the ecological transition – is the one that has received the most resources: if those of the REACT-EU program and those of the complementary fund are added to the PNRR funds, the figure reaches 69.9 billion.
The European Union is lagging behind in the development of so-called "clean technologies" (solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles, mainly) compared to China, which invested massively in them decades ago, but also compared to the United States, which in 2022 has approved a law (the Inflation Reduction Act) containing subsidies for 369 billion dollars which is contributing to taking investments away from the Old Continent.
THE COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGES OF THE G7, ACCORDING TO CONFINDUSTRIA
“Given the desired acceleration” of the energy transition, we read in the Confindustria note that “it is necessary to remember how the energy and environmental transition, combined with the ongoing geopolitical crises and tensions, pose risks for the competitiveness of the economies of the countries in the G7, with specific threats to the industrial sector exposed to international competition".
“Among the competitive disadvantages”, continues the document, “there is the high cost of greenhouse gas emissions in the G7 compared to countries that have not yet adopted effective sustainability policies, with the European price of greenhouse gas emission quotas in 2023 equal to 90.26 $/tCO2e, ten times higher than the Chinese price. The high costs of electricity constitute a further burden, in particular for European companies and consumers who bear prices that are among the highest internationally, double those of the Chinese market”.
THE RISK OF DEPENDENCE ON CHINA
Confindustria then points out the "risk factor linked to the substantial Chinese control of the supply chains involved in the energy transition, with shares ranging from around 80% for photovoltaics to 65% for batteries, with the prospect of moving from the historical dependence of our energy system from fossil fuels to that for the supply of green technologies".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/confindustria-sostegno-pubblico-transizione-energetica/ on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 10:43:08 +0000.