Representatives of companies associated with Ciment Català took part in the 14th International Business Symposium organised by the Foundation for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (Funseam), held on 2 February in Barcelona at the headquarters of Foment del Treball. The event addressed the role of the European Union in the current international context in achieving the necessary energy transition and attaining climate neutrality, as well as the challenges faced by companies and their decision-making in a global market.
The 14th Funseam Symposium, entitled “Europe facing a climate, economic and geopolitical crisis”, highlighted the contribution of the Catalan cement industry to the fight against the climate crisis. In this regard, Marcos Cela, CEO of Molins, explained his company’s strong commitment to achieving a zero-carbon footprint, as well as the need to remove existing barriers through public-private collaboration.
The event featured the participation of the Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, who presided over the opening session. The EU representative stated that “the use of energy and raw materials is becoming a geopolitical weapon, as it was at other moments in history”, and proposed forging alliances with new partners, such as the recently established Mercosur or India, to overcome a change in the rules of the international order, in which partners such as the United States and, above all, Russia are no longer fully reliable. According to Ribera, trade agreements reduce risks and facilitate energy security.
The European Vice-President announced the intention to allocate €30 billion to complete pending tasks, such as the eight energy highways still missing across the continent. Two of these corridors involve Spain, through the electricity interconnection with France and the hydrogen corridor.
Ribera delivered an optimistic message and outlined some of the initiatives envisaged for this necessary transition, such as the creation of a European Decarbonisation Bank to finance projects aimed at this goal, as the competitiveness of European companies largely depends on strengthening the financial sector and the digitalisation sector.