The clean energy transition – necessitated by the Paris Agreement and implemented in the EU through the Energy Union strategy – is changing the industrial landscape in Europe. Viewed through the lens of competitiveness, this transition brings about threats as well as opportunities. This transition also leads to increased integration and linkages between climate and energy policies, on the one hand, and industrial policies, on the other. The short report is a first attempt to describe these linkages and thereby make a step towards identifying key issues and emerging policy questions while starting to hint at possible answers. It is meant as a background for discussion upon which to build further research.

Keywords: Energy Union; energy transition; EU ETS; climate and industrial policy; innovation finance

Milan Elkerbout is a Researcher at CEPS Energy Climate House. This Policy Insight offers some reflections on the workshop: “Game over for European power intensive industries in a low emission EU? Or rather new opportunities for innovation, growth, and job creation?” which was held at Norway House in Brussels in June 2017.