AMAG signs Antwerp Declaration in support of sustainable industry
AMAG Austria Metall AG has signed the Antwerp Declaration, adding its voice to over 1,000 energy-intensive companies in the basic materials sector who are urgently calling for a European Industrial Deal. This initiative aims to accomplish the climate transition while maintaining the competitive position of Europe’s industrial sector.
Helmut Kaufmann, CEO of AMAG, said: “Signing the Antwerp Declaration is an important signal from AMAG and the entire energy-intensive industrial sector in Europe. We face enormous challenges on the path to climate neutrality and it is essential that we, as an industry, receive the support we need to modernize our sites and make them sustainable. Modern infrastructure and access to carbon-free energy at competitive prices are essential if we are to achieve our objectives.”
The declaration sets out ten key points, including actions such as eliminating regulatory incoherence, reducing cross-border documentation requirements and creating new legislative incentives for clean technologies. It calls for a simplified state aid framework for clean technologies to smooth the transition to a greener economy. The declaration also underscores the need for Europe to position itself as a competitive energy supplier at a global level and to secure supplies of raw materials. A European strategy to expand infrastructure in areas such as energy, digitalization, recycling, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is urgently needed. In addition, the declaration calls for installation of a dedicated Vice President of the European Commission to drive forward implementation of the proposed European Industrial Deal by 2029.
“There’s no doubt that we must take measures to combat climate change. Yet, sustainable industrial policy can only be sustainable if industry survives. That’s why meeting the demands of the Antwerp Declaration will be decisive for successful management of the transformation to carbon-neutral industry. What applies to Europe should also be well implemented in Austria, without the country going it alone or exceeding what is necessary. A half-baked Renewable Gas Act (Erneuerbare-Gase-Gesetz – EGG) and the lack of an Electricity Price Equalization Act (Stromkostenausgleichsgesetz –SAG) are further impacting the competitive position of Austrian industry, even compared to the rest of Europe,” said CEO Helmut Kaufmann.
