Re-Industrialise

Tackling climate change by achieving carbon neutrality in energy and resource-intensive industrial regions requires innovations of production processes and new business cases. This necessary transformation carries the risk of negative economic and social impacts on communities leading to resistance of policy makers, businesses and civil society in these regions. These barriers to innovation substantially slow down climate action.

This is where the EIT Climate-KIC Flagship Re-Industrialise steps in: mindful of socio-economic challenges to transformation in high carbon industry regions, the Flagship fosters new pathways at the interface of decarbonisation and economic development. It is designed to support public authorities, development agencies and companies as well as unions and civil society in energy and resource-intensive European industrial regions. The transition towards a low-carbon economy requires careful planning, development and a rollout of activities. Thus, it is the Flagship's aim to build knowledge for de-risking industrial decarbonisation strategies, to facilitate networks linking up key stakeholders for decarbonising regions, and to upscale decarbonisation solutions in regions.

Over the course of three years, the Re-Industrialise Flagship consortium is working towards these objectives through a three-fold strategy:

• Inform: Our research and consultancy work stream will identify focus regions and analyse their specific needs and niches for innovation, learn to understand ecosystems of stakeholders in these regions and provide good practice examples.
• Inspire: Our capacity building and networking work stream will facilitate training modules and e-learning formats tailored to the needs of regional stakeholders and enable transnational peer learning.
• Implement: Our implementation work stream will support innovation activities in focus regions financially and with ad-hoc advice.

The Wuppertal Institute is leading the Flagship and its consortium. The Institute's Re-Industrialise team is involved in all work streams.