Editorial
by Massimo Medugno DG Assocarta
The second edition of the CEPI project REINVEST 2050 was launched at the European Parliament on 12 February in Strasbourg. The exhibition was hosted by Members of the European Parliament Elsi Katainen (ALDE, Finland) and Ludek Niedermayer (EPP, Czech Republic).
It showcased 21 success stories about investments in innovation and ground-breaking technology best practices across the forest fibre industry carried out by 16 different companies based in 12 EU Member States.
The exhibition enabled over 12 MEPs and 20 industry representatives to measure how the pulp and paper industry is making, in practice, the energy and bioeconomy transition happen across Europe today.
MEP Elsi Katainen emphasized that «both politicians and industry are committed to reduce their CO2 emissions to meet the Paris Agreement objectives».
In their speeches, MEPs Paul Brannen and Dario Tamburrano focused on the circular bioeconomy. Paul Brannen said: «I think there’s an opportunity with what you would call the wider bioeconomy to really make some deep inroads into tackling climate change through a shift from making stuff from fossil fuels, into making stuff from wood as a feedstock. Paper is at the heart of that».
Dario Tamburrano underlined: «Paper is one of the materials which is a great ally in order to build a circular economy».
The MEP Brando Benifei highlighted: «The paper industry is a very important player for the sustainibility and social development».
Finally, MEP Anne Sander shed an industrial policy look on the event: «Europe is in a leading position but we have to work in a clever way in order to set emission reduction goals that are reachable. It would be dramatic to set emission reduction standards and goals that would be so hard to achieve that they become an incentive for industry to move outside Europe».
The overall concept of REINVEST2050 is to stimulate competition between companies on low carbon solutions in order to create a domino effect and encourage the deployment of innovative solutions.
Is there an initiative contributing to low-carbon emission societies in your country? Stay tuned and submit your project for the next edition of REINVEST2050.