SMEunited Committee discusses decarbonisation support and climate resilience

“The Clean Industrial Deal must bring much needed support to SMEs in their decarbonisation efforts, relief for entrepreneurs from overburdening bureaucracy, and make SMEs more climate resilient”, said SMEunited’s Policy Vice-President Josef Herk in the meeting of the Climate, Energy and Environment Committee.

Preparing SMEs for climate-related risks and preventing severe economic losses is crucial for SMEs. stressed “quote”. Our Policy Vice-President Marianna Panebarco encouraged our guest speaker MEP Pär Holmgren and co-legislators in general to deliver concrete actions: “It is essential to support SMEs in understanding and mitigating environmental risks through a just resilience approach and boost their potential to become market leaders in resilience-building technologies and services.”

Our guest speaker MEP Pär Holmgren shared his ideas of a whole-of-society approach to climate resilience with our members: “Exchanges like this are crucial to bridging the gap between business and politics, helping us build a shared vision for our sustainable future. SMEs play a key role in accelerating the green transition and climate-proofing our economy through creative solutions. By integrating climate resilience into their operations, upholding fair practices, and advocating for climate-friendly policies, they can lead by example and drive real change for the economy and planet”.

An enabling framework for SMEs must be a central element of the Clean Industrial Deal. Pamela Jouven and Lydia Elliot from the SME Climate Hub presented a set of tools that help SMEs on their decarbonisation journey. Details. The SME Climate Hub aims to mainstream climate action for SMEs and enable them to take action, commit to net-zero, and report emissions. Freely available tools like the Action Space, Carbon Calculators, and the SME reporting tool help SMEs navigate through complex issues and recognise and showcase their commitments.

The discussion resonated well with the prior exchange of our Policy Vice-Presidents with representatives from DG Environment on water resilience. SMEunited expressed its strong support for a European Water Resilience Strategy. The strategy must set a clear path towards ensuring long-term water security, disaster prevention, and affordable water prices for businesses and households alike. Specifically, it should combine the do-no-significant-harm principle with a right for economic activities to consume water.

Members also discussed the European Commission Work Programme for 2025 and ongoing priority files such as the Green Claims Directive and the Waste Framework Directive.

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