European New Trade Defense Measure To Impact Solar Jobs: Report

European New Trade Defense Measure Impacting Solar Jobs: Report

Solar Power Europe recently released a joint statement and warned that 433 European solar companies and associations may undertake trade measures. They add that, these measures could negatively affect solar jobs in EU, and cause detriment to EU’s green energy transition, which is currently at a critical moment in time.

The report mentions that the European solar associations has signed a joint statement, representing 6000 solar organisations. It adds that, if entered into force, the trade defence measures could cause a loss of almost 400,000 European solar jobs. It claims that this could forego half of the continent’s current solar workforce.

It elaborates that, right now, Europe produces less than 3% of the solar panels needed to meet to hit their 2030 solar deployment goals. This could affect trade investigations, and it threatens Europe’s path to rapid decarbonisation of energy, keeping the door to a 1.5 C climate-safe world open ahead of COP 28.

Alongside the joint statement, SolarPower Europe have sent a letter to EU leaders warning them about trade against them. The letter advises that Europe’s solar manufacturing goals are within reach with proper industrial policy and effective market access standards, like the Forced Labour Ban or Ecodesign rules.

Earlier this month, reportedly, ahead of a high-level European Solar PV Industrial Alliance a meeting with Commissioner Thierry Breton. In which about 429 European solar companies joined a call to EU authorities to take trade defense measures off the table. In this, Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said: “We are aghast at the rumours that a trade defense investigation could be launched into solar. This is an affront to the clear messages that the solar sector has repeatedly set out. We have better, faster, and more effective solutions for the crisis that European manufacturers face. Europe must not betray its climate and energy security targets.”

The joint statement warns that trade defence measures would negatively impact European employment and put many local, green, jobs at risk. Should trade defence measures be investigated next year, and implemented in 2025, their latest analysis suggests a drop from 890,000 to 655,000 jobs in 2024, and down to less than 600,000 in 2025.

Future of EU Jobs

In SolarPower Europe’s accompanying high-level letter to European leaders, the association reminds policymakers of current solar manufacturing landscape in Europe. Less than 3% (1.5 GW) of expected Europe’s solar deployment – 54 GW – can be fully made in Europe today.

The report adds that, the trade measures have not worked in the past. Earlier, a similar situation reportedly occurred when sector warned of the solar collapse in the 2010s. It includes incident of anti-dumping which occurred only 5 years ago. The anti-dumping and countervailing duties in place on solar panels imported from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia were abolished for good reason. It mentions that, these duties had negative consequences, on solar jobs, project investment, and solar deployment. It claims that there were severely declined during the period of application of these trade defence measures. It includes led to an increase in costs to customers, without bringing back Europe’s solar factories.

US Proposes Norms To Counter Chinese Domination In Battery Manufacturing

Also Read

Annual PV Installation in Europe

Reiterating their consistent call for policymakers to support European solar manufacturing, SolarPower Europe’s letter urges EU leaders to:

1. Consider state guarantees and credit lines for European solar PV manufacturers that are struggling to survive under the current challenging market conditions following decreases in prices of imported solar modules;
2. Adjust and prolong the State Aid rules under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework to also cover the running cost of factories (opex), and reduce complexity of access and implementation;
3. Accompany national financing with an EU-level financial tool for solar manufacturing, like a Solar Manufacturing Bank, linked to the Innovation Fund or a new EU Sovereignty Fund.

These industrial strategy solutions need to be accompanied with clear market access standards that reflect Europe’s ESG values. SolarPower Europe therefore continues to support the upcoming Ecodesign rules for solar PV, as well as the upcoming Forced Labour Ban and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.