The EU will need to create a stimulus package similar to that agreed in the US to keep its sustainable and renewables industries competitive, an investor has said.
Anthony Catachanas, CEO and manager of Victory Hill’s £352 million ($400 million) Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities Fund, told Environmental Finance that Europe would be wise to look at how it can stimulate investment in the energy transition, following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August.
The monumental bill, which has been hailed as potentially the most consequential climate legislation passed in the US, will see about $369 billion invested into climate initiatives. This is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the world’s largest economy by 40% from 2005 levels, by the end of the decade.
While he predicts this will increase the transatlantic trade for American industries, especially manufacturing, he said the EU will likely end up creating a stimulus package to protect its own industry. “They [the EU] are naturally prone to that protectionist mindset, so they will want to do it” he said.