The focus is on climate protection: Industrial event shows ways to CO2 neutrality!

The focus is on climate protection: Industrial event shows ways to CO2 neutrality!

On June 9, 2025, the event "Clean Industrial Deal: From the cost factor to the growth engine" took place in the Austrian World Summit Solutions Hub in Asparn. This was organized by the Lower Austria industrial association (IV-NÖ) and aimed to discuss the necessary transformation of industry towards climate neutrality. The event was opened by Wilfried Sihn, an expert from the Fraunhofer Institute Austria, with a keynote in which he emphasized the importance of economically sustainable climate protection measures. IV-NÖ President Kari Ochsner underlined the need to restart Austrian industry, with responsibility and leadership being decisive. Sustainability must be viewed as a business case in order to achieve a real transformation.

In Austria, around 2,700 Green-Tech companies work that offer over 100,000 jobs in related sectors and exports around 72% of their sales with annual sales of over 15 billion euros. To support this change, some requirements have been defined, including competitive energy prices, the implementation of the renewable expansion acceleration law (EABG) and an accelerated network expansion.

EU initiatives for the transformation of industry

The event is part of a broader initiative presented by the European Commission to design the “Clean Industrial Deal”. The central strategy includes six fields of action that are crucial for the transformation of the European economy: affordable energy, lead markets, financing, circular economy as well as access to raw materials, global markets and international partnerships and skills. The aim of these measures is the successful decarbonization of European industry. The EU Commission recognizes the European industry as the key player for the development of clean technologies and sees the implementation of the proposals under the Polish Presidency as quickly necessary to strengthen competitiveness.

Significant developments in European energy policy in recent years, including the Green Deal, have contributed to the stabilization and reduction of energy prices. For example, new capacities in the area of ​​renewable energies were installed in 2023: 56 GW in solar energy and 16 GW in wind power. Gas demand has also dropped by 18 % compared to the pre -crisis level.

a clear vision for the future

Elisabeth Zehetner, State Secretary, emphasized that energy policy is also a location policy. One main goal is the reduction in network charges to secure the competitiveness of the companies. In this context, Wilfried Sihn called for strategic access to the conversion of the production systems and presented knowledge about sustainable value creation systems. In addition, the need for a strong industrial policy commitment at EU level was addressed to position Austria as a pioneer in strategic industrial policy.

Finally, it can be stated that the discussions covered both economic, social and ecological requirements for industrial policy. The challenges, but also opportunities of climate neutrality, are the focus of political initiatives and will be crucial for the future development of the European economy. The strategic measures of the EU aim to enable comprehensive and quick change in order to meet the climate goals and to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry.