Wood-based panels producers were given encouraging news of European policymakers recommending a reprieve for urea in the scope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Massimiliano Salini, MEP and the European Parliament’s rapporteur of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy committee, made the important statement at the European Panel Federation’s (EPF) General Assembly in Milan on June 12.
Mr Salini told EPF members he had decided to recommend excluding urea – an important raw material for adhesives/resins used in WBP manufacturing – from the scope of CBAM.
Mr Salini said if urea came under CBAM’s scope it would not be compatible with the goal of preserving European industrial sectors. Such a move would likely increase the cost of adhesives and resins and impact the wider competitiveness of the wood furniture sector.
He underscored the importance of education by sharing that there were European decision makers who didn’t fully know what urea was.
He said he remained sceptical of CBAM as it was connected to the EU Emissions Trading system (ETS).
Mr Salini said a revision of the ETS will take place in the coming months after the committee’s recommendation of a “radical revision” of the scheme.
“We have to completely revise ETS, then we can look at the scope of CBAM. We are on the right track, because finally there is now a real consensus of opinion in the EU about the importance of industry.”
Mr Salini the direction of regulation over recent years created “very risky” environment for industry “We are a continent of creaters and producers who are becoming consumers.”
Elsewhere at the EPF conference, Antonio Gozzi, president of Federacciai (the Italian steel producers association), gave a hard-hitting message on Energy Transition in European Policies.
“In the last 10 years, decarbonisation has become a more and more dangerous transition in Europe,” he said.
But for the first time a debate in Europe was now “open” towards discussing the impacts on industry and looking at realistic considerations, he added.
Mr Gozzi said his discussions with policymakers in Brussels challenged aspects of the ecological approach, referencing the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which pushes technology to decarbonise, but he said it was becoming more and more “a carbon tax”.
He criticised the financialisation of the ETS, with powerful financial institutions speculating on carbon markets and prices.
“The European Commission is committed to presenting a proposal to revise the ETS before the end of July 2026,” he said.
Italy and Eastern Europe, he added, were pressing for “fundamental” changes with the ETS system, while France, Germany and Spain currently sat between the two positions on the issue.
“The trend of strict decarbonisation is not achievable and is not a reality within the context of industry.”
European industries, Mr Gozzi said, had already achieved significant Co2 reductions, whereas China had built approximately 300 fossil fuel power plants in the last five years, with Co2 emissions dwarfing the savings being made.
Paolo Fantoni, president of Assopaennelli, urged the stakeholders in the wood-based panels industries to work together to safeguard their future.
“Europe for too long has had a passive position to our sector regarding our interests,” he said.
Low-cost Chinese imported products were coming onto the European markets, actively supported by Chinese governmental authorities, he warned. The need for advocacy, lobbying, and vision for the sector was needed, he argues.
