Aluminium – A critical raw material for Europe’s green transition
With the Green Deal, the European Union's ambitious goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a substantial 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, with a further aspiration to become the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To succeed, however, Europe must increase its independency in the supply of clean energy and critical raw materials. Aluminium has the potential to play a pivotal role in Europe's transition towards a greener future. But it matters where and how aluminium is produced.
In chapter one of Hydro’s video series on the role of aluminium in Europe’s green transition, Pål Kildemo, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Trond Olaf Christophersen, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, and Jostein Røynesdal, Head of EU Affairs sit down to discuss the primary growth areas for aluminium to drive the decarbonization of industries.
In chapter two we discuss the interplay between the market and the regulatory side, why not all recycling is necessarily green, and why it is so crucial to keep post-consumer scrap in Europe.
Why is traceability so crucial for creating a sustainable value chain? In chapter three we reflect on the increasing demands for transparency by customers, the risks of greenwashing when sustainability is used as a mere marketing buzzword, and how companies must ensure that their products can be traced at every step through the entire value chain.
To create a sustainable value chain of critical raw materials in Europe and access untapped resources, industry and regulators must collaborate. In chapter four we take a look at the major pieces of legislation shaping the European aluminum value chain, from defining what is considered as a critical raw material to determining how to allocate emissions to pre- verses post-consumer scrap in recycling in our efforts to build industries that matter.