Major fossil fuel and industrial companies including Shell, BP and Tata Steel are among those calling on European politicians to consider forcing consumers to buy less polluting products, arguing that such action is needed to boost investment in the energy transition.
A recent report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has outlined a proposed “new industrial strategy for Europe”, in order to keep pace with the US and China. The suggestion of mandates is likely to be controversial, however, given the risk of driving up costs for consumers following the cost of living crisis of recent years, generated by government pandemic spending and a spike in supply chain costs, as well as energy prices following the war in Ukraine.