During the second day of the Conference on Energy challenges facing European Industry, several experts and speakers stressed that the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 30% by 2020 is technically and financially achievable.

The Conference on Energy challenges facing European Industry was organised by Belgian Minister for the Economy Jean-Claude Marcourt, as part of the Presidency of the Competitiveness Council, industry sector, which he will be holding until the end of this year. The meeting, held in Spa, brought together 300 people from the business world, decision-makers and European Institutions. The goal was to give a voice to all players and, particularly, to those who are involved in their companies on a daily basis with the issue of the emergence of a new industrial policy integrating sustainability.

Innovation was a focal point of the discussions. It provides a way to promote production methods that are both sustainable and financially practical for companies. Innovation was a key word at this conference. It will also be the subject of a plan to be published during the Belgian Presidency.

This conference comes within the context of the Phare Initiative Nº 1 and the Europe 2020 Strategy and is being held in the run-up to publication of the Communication on industrial policy.

The Walloon Region’s experiences with energy and clusters were highlighted during the debates. Sector agreements, which are voluntary commitments by companies to reduce emissions regionally, were described and met with great interest by the attendees. Exchanges of practices between companies were requested by several European representatives who congratulated the Presidency for holding a debate that enabled everyone to be heard by the Council of Industry Ministers.