CCS Europe Cosigns Joint Statement on the upcoming proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act

On 11 February, CCS Europe, alongside 40 other leading organisations from industrial and manufacturing sectors, research institutions, think tanks, and civil society groups, issued a joint statement on the upcoming Industrial Accelerator Act. The signatories stress the importance of creating lead markets for low-carbon industrial products and emphasise that both public and private demand must be leveraged to scale clean manufacturing across Europe.

While the undersigned organisations welcome the Commission’s efforts to promote decarbonisation, they also express concern that initial ambition for the Act has been diluted. According to the current internal draft, demand-side provisions largely target public procurement and support schemes and focus only on a limited set of sectors, including steel, cement, aluminium, and construction plastics. Relying solely on public demand risks fragmentation and insufficient market scale for low-carbon products.

Additionally, according to the aforementioned internal draft, it is unclear on whether low-carbon requirements for public procurement would be complementary or subordinate to origin-based criteria. Implementing acts may allow the Commission to choose between "minimum Union content" or "low-carbon Union content," risking decarbonisation becoming optional. Voluntary labels can support early movers but are insufficient to ensure fair competition or market adoption of low-carbon products.

The joint statement outlines key recommendations for the Industrial Accelerator Act, including:

  • Broaden the scope of lead market measures to more sectors and products;

  • Establish EU-wide, harmonised, and performance-based product standards;

  • Implement mandatory green public procurement with clear quotas;

  • Establish durable and predictable private demand.

By implementing these recommendations, policymakers can accelerate industrial decarbonisation, strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, and stimulate investment in clean technologies. The Industrial Accelerator Act represents a timely opportunity to create lead markets for low-carbon products and support Europe’s net-zero transition.

You can view the joint letter here.