Cleantech for Iberia welcomes the European Commission’s continued commitment to a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. In the context of a climate emergency and intensifying global competition, this target reinforces Europe’s leadership and international credibility ahead of COP30.

However, ambition must now translate into swift implementation of the Clean Industrial Deal. This means rolling out policies that stimulate demand for European clean technologies and introducing effective mechanisms to de-risk private investment in cleantech. Moving from targets to tangible action is the only path to achieving a crucial threefold objective: building a clean, green industry aligned with climate goals, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, and securing strategic autonomy.

Carbon pricing will be a key pillar. Integration with the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) must work smoothly. If carbon prices become too low or volatile, we risk losing a vital incentive for decarbonisation.

A clean industrial transition cannot happen without strong support for cleantech scale-ups. These are the companies developing the solutions needed to decarbonise critical sectors like industry, energy, agriculture, transport, and buildings. Beyond innovation, they are creating future-proof jobs, boosting productivity, and opening new markets. Including the emerging cleantech ecosystem in the design of climate and industrial policy is essential.

We have the technology. We have the capital. What we need now are the right policies and partnerships to scale clean technologies. Europe is becoming a cradle of cleantech innovation — from next-generation batteries and advanced geothermal to renewable hydrogen, synthetic fuels, critical materials recycling, and digital efficiency solutions. To fully harness this momentum, we need more agile regulations, stable investment frameworks, and an industrial strategy that positions cleantech as a pillar of competitiveness.

The power grid is the backbone of the energy transition — but its Achilles’ heel is flexibility. As we highlighted in our recent report ‘No Green Deal without a Grid Deal’, the energy transition today is not limited by technology, but by a lack of grid infrastructure to integrate it. Scale-ups are ready to deploy clean solutions, but face connection bottlenecks, planning delays, and a lack of visibility around infrastructure investments. We urgently need an industrial policy for electricity networks that accelerates their expansion, modernization, and digitalization, enabling a more flexible, distributed, and intelligent energy system. Without grids, there is no electrification — and no real transition.

We call for a clear public investment and infrastructure strategy — a true European “Grid Deal” — to make the energy transition viable: reforming incentives for operators, digitalizing networks, speeding up permitting, and clearing grid bottlenecks. This is a prerequisite for scaling clean electrification and enabling the growth of new industries.

Spain and Portugal are uniquely positioned to lead this cleantech transformation in Europe. With their high renewable potential, strategic energy infrastructure, entrepreneurial talent, and growing climate startup ecosystem, the Iberian Peninsula can serve as Europe’s testbed for a net-zero industry. But this will only be possible with strong industrial policy support, targeted investment, and removal of regulatory barriers.