European Ceramic Days 2020
The 2020 European Ceramic Days (ECD), organized by Cerame Unie, Brussels, took place from 16-18 November, via Web Meetings and Live Streamed Webinars, attended by more than 150 participants worldwide. The Webinars were also integrated in the European SME Week, as part of a pan-European campaign to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and promote entrepreneurship.
Roadmap for a carbon neutral production
In his keynote speech “Making the European Green Deal and Carbon Border Adjustments fit for SME”, Murray Rattana-Ngam, Vice-President TBE-Tiles and Bricks Europe and Managing Director Ziegelwerk Bellenberg, emphasized that SME are aware of their responsibility to contribute to an emission free world. “We are also reviewing and revising the Cerame Unie roadmap created in 2012. We are looking forward to publishing the results in due time. Simultaneously, we are working on a German roadmap for a carbon neutral production of brick and tiles in 2050 in Germany. It is our duty to find the best scenario for a climate-friendly brick and tile production,” Mr Rattana-Ngam explained.
The European Commission has proposed the new Green Deal as one of its key priorities. The European Climate Law is the first one to enshrine the climate neutrality by 2050 into legislation. The ceramic industry commits itself to the ambitious target of climate neutrality. Mr Rattana-Ngam: “Therefore, it is for us a fundamental condition that the proper carbon leakage protection is ensured by our industry while staying competitive, in the European and in the global market. Industry sectors need stability and certainty to regain trust in the ETS system. This is necessary for us to be able to plan in advance the urgently needed investments which will be used to repair the damaged economy caused by the pandemic. This fact also holds true for sectors with a high proportion of SME, where research, innovation and investment in breakthrough technologies require more time and an even greater degree of planning security. This planning security is at stake if the ETS Directive is revised before the allocation certificates are sent to the installations.”
Comprehensible and reliable guidelines
“SME are the backbone of the economy and will play the biggest part to solve the mentioned challenges,” underlined Mr Rattana-Ngam. “I can promise that the will to invest in new technologies is there in the majority of SME. A large number of innovative and promising ideas from SME improve our industry all the time. But we need comprehensible and reliable guidelines, support in the development of new technologies, and clear, transparent and understandable communication. If all these are guaranteed, I am sure that the European Green Deal and a climate-neutral Europe will be a success for all of us.”
