Q. Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: The European Parliament approved The Net-Zero Industry Act recently.
Statement-II: The European Union intends to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and therefore aims to develop all of its own clean technology by that time.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
- Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-I explains Statement-II
- Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
- Statement-1 is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
- Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct
Answer: (c) Statement-1 is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
Notes:
- The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) is a piece of EU legislation aimed at accelerating the transition to a net-zero economy by strengthening the EU’s manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies.
- European Parliament approved the Net-Zero industry Act to bolster EU production in technologies needed for decarbonisation.
- The “Net-Zero industry Act”, already informally agreed upon with the Council, sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of its annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030, based on National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and to capture 15% of the global market value for these technologies.
- Technologies to be supported include all renewable technologies, nuclear, industrial decarbonisation, grid, energy storage technologies, and biotech.
- The law will simplify the permitting process, setting maximum timelines for projects to be authorised depending on their scope and output.
- The agreement provides for the creation of “Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys” initiatives, speeding up the permitting process by delegating parts of the evidence collection for environmental assessments to member states.
- The NZIA is a key component of the EU’s strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, as outlined in the European Green Deal.