Supporting investments in climate friendly production and recycling of materials as part of the European and national COVID-19 recovery packages can both achieve the short term objective of effective recovery spending for boosting the economy and creating jobs as well as deliver climate and long-term economic benefits. In order to realize the full economic and climate benefits of investment support, a rapid implementation of the policy package envisaged in the European Green Deal is required.
This report discusses how the recovery packages can in the longer term, investments in climate-friendly production and an increased recycling of materials have the potential to deliver three main benefits. This offers a further motivation for delivering a recovery package by:
a) Providing inclusive transformation that creates new lead markets for climate-friendly production of materials as well as recycling services and low-carbon products, and thereby boosts the activity of innovative companies active in different EU member states.
b) Scaling-up of low-carbon technology that will trigger demand for new production and sorting technologies at industrial scale.
c) Building resilience of integrated value chains in Europe against future crises, by ensuring that companies have access to climate friendly materials while reducing their exposure to energy and raw material costs by enhanced recycling that closes the loop of the lifecycle of products.
This report goes in detail in how to assess viable low-carbon technology options for climate-friendly investments in the scope of the recovery package. Based on insights from industry experts, this report highlights the necessary elements of a recovery package which could help to realize these investments and discuss how they can support recovery objectives. The aim of the analysis presented in this report is to explore whether and how investments in pilots, demonstration projects and the commercialization of low-carbon production and closed-loop recycling projects could be accelerated to contribute to the recovery while enhancing the competitiveness of the European basic materials industry and kick off the decarbonization of the sector.