European transparency and environmental organizations have accused the Alliance for Critical Chemical Products, created by Brussels to identify molecules vital to the European economy, of being dominated by industry.
In a joint report, the Corporate Europe Observatory and the European Environment Office emphasize that the alliance’s work neglects the issue of detoxification and the reduction of fossil fuel use by this industry.
The two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) demand that any public funding for the initiative be subject to strict conditions, such as not supporting the production of harmful chemicals.
“The Alliance for Critical Chemical Products is moving forward at a rapid pace, with very little public oversight, and has been captured by corporate interests,” they state in the document.
The alliance was created by the European Commission to ensure the strategic autonomy, resilience, and competitiveness of the chemical industry in the European Union.
It serves essentially to classify which productions and chemical molecules are vital to the European economy and strategic sectors, such as health, electronics, energy, and defense, but also to assess which of them may benefit from closer monitoring and commercial support.
NGOs criticize the fact that this work is being led by large companies in the sector, which, together with industry associations, hold the majority on the alliance’s steering committee and working groups, while smaller and innovative companies have little voice and civil society organizations were “marginalised” in this process.
The alliance’s members include 124 companies, 86 trade associations, 20 regional public authorities and 20 national authorities, 13 civil society organizations, nine universities, and six trade unions, they list.
Giant companies such as BASF, Evonik, INEOS, Syensqo, TotalEnergies and Repsol are key players in the process, which, according to the report, is led in particular by CEFIC, the European chemical industry association.
“The European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, is pursuing a programme of ‘competitiveness’ and ‘deregulation’ that lacks sufficient empirical basis and the necessary consultations, and that prioritizes the short-term demands of corporate lobby groups over the needs of people, the environment, and the future,” they point out.
NGOs demand a change of course and call for any public funding for the industry to be conditioned on addressing the “climate crisis and pollution,” for example, denying support for the production of harmful chemicals.
