CEPI targets carbon emissions cuts

The Brussels-based Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) says it has reviewed and updated its 2050 Roadmap, “detailing the pathways and investment needed to cut [the industry’s] carbon emissions by 80% while creating 50% more added value.” CEPI says its Roadmap could cut paper sector carbon dioxide emissions from 49 million tonnes in 2015 to just 12 million tonnes in 2050.

The Roadmap forecasts the need for €44 billion more in investment, a 40% increase on current levels, to help the industry in Europe to “lead the low-carbon bio-economy by 2050.” One section of the report cites a 71.5% paper recycling figure for Europe, saying its benefits include “keeping fibres in the loop and extending the benefits of their renewable origin.”

CEPI created its first low-carbon industry Roadmap in 2011 and says in early 2017 it is reaffirming its “vision that decarbonisation and growth are mutually compatible.” The group says it is calling for “a better alignment of policy, research and financing conditions to boost investment in Europe.”

“Since our first Roadmap in 2011 the paper industry has invested €15 billion in Europe,” says Sylvain Lhôte CEPI’s director general. “More must be done to accelerate industry transformation in Europe over the next decade. It is now essential to lift off the low-carbon bio-economy and pace of transformation.”

An initial combined investment of €24 billion by 2050 can go toward energy efficiency, the deployment of breakthrough technologies and other “emissions reduction pathways,” according to CEPI. A further €20 billion of investment would be required to boost the production of what CEPI calls new low-carbon bio-based products.

“The European Commission has rightly put the focus back on investment,” says Lhôte “However, it lacks a long-term commitment to drive manufacturing investments back to Europe. The time to act is now; the policy framework for the next decade is being shaped now and over the next three years,” he states.

The full version of the CEPI Roadmap can be found here.