Clean & Prosperous Institute is off to Brussels and Iceland for our fifth Study Mission! We’re thrilled to bring a delegation of more than 40 Washington leaders across businesses, policymaking, and nonprofits to the European Union’s capital as they mark 20 years of operating the longest-running carbon market in the world.
We’ll be meeting with European Union (EU) leaders to discuss priority issues that impact our international counterparts and Washingtonians, create new partnerships, and share lessons learned. As the federal government recedes its climate commitments, our delegation will work to establish Washington as a trusted subnational partner on climate action and clean energy.
In today’s newsletter, you can find more information related to the issues we’ll be exploring while we’re in Brussels and Iceland. And you can follow Clean & Prosperous Institute (CPI) on social media for more updates on the Study Mission:
- LinkedIn: @clean-prosperous-institute
- Instagram: @cleanprosperousinstitute
- Bluesky: @cleanandprosperous.bsky.social
Meeting with the Directorate-General for Climate Action
In Brussels, we’ll be meeting with leaders from the Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), which leads the efforts to develop and implement policies and legislation to help the EU reach its 2030 climate targets and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
We’ll discuss best practices, lessons learned, and what’s next for the EU’s carbon market, known as the Emissions Trading System (ETS). The ETS covers emissions from large emitters in the electricity, heat generation, industrial manufacturing, aviation sectors, and, as of 2024, maritime transport. Alongside a suite of legislation consolidated and codified in the European Climate Law, the ETS has helped the EU successfully reduce emissions by 38 percent from 1990 levels.
EU Greenhouse Gas Net Emissions, Projections, and Targets
Visit the EU Commission’s climate action website for more information on their efforts to reach carbon neutrality.
Carbon Capture and Re-Use at the Port of Ghent
CPI and the study mission delegation will also visit ArcelorMittal’s Steelanol facility at the Port of Ghent, which is converting carbon-rich industrial emissions from its blast furnace into fuel-grade ethanol by using leading carbon recycling technology developed by LanzaTech.
Ethanol production began in 2023, and the facility is a first-of-its-kind for the European steel industry. The Steelanol plant has the capacity to produce over 20 million gallons annually of advanced ethanol, around half of the current demand in Belgium. It expects to reduce carbon emissions from the facility in Ghent by 125,000 MT CO2 annually.
Advancing a Clean Industrial Deal
We’ll also hear from officials at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges about how they are addressing industrial competitiveness within a carbon market and advancing the policies of the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.
Photo credit: Port of Antwerp-Bruges
We’re excited to learn more about the Port of Antwerp-Bruges’ industrial decarbonization efforts, particularly as Washington state determines how to involve emissions-intensive industries in its carbon market after 2030. Washington state is also advancing efforts like industrial symbiosis to reduce waste and emissions and position our state as a clean industrial hub.
Read more about the progress of clean industrial hubs in the United States in RMI.
Thank You to Our Study Mission Sponsors
