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The next frontier: Offshore wind development in Asia
In the face of significant global headwinds in the sector, green shoots are emerging in 2025 for offshore wind in Asia after a turbulent 24 months.
Germany | Publication | February 2025
On 26 February 2025, the European Commission officially presented its Clean Industrial Plan (COM/2025/85), including accompanying measures to reduce energy prices. The Clean Industrial Plan is built around six main elements:
Alongside the Clean Industrial Plan, the European Commission presented its Affordable Energy Action Plan (COM/2025/79). The Affordable Energy Action Plan follows four objectives:
The goal is to increase the economy-wide electrification rate from 21.3% to 32% in 2030 and install 100 GW of renewable electricity capacity every year until 2030.
The EU will introduce sustainability, resilience, and 'made in Europe' criteria in public and private procurements through the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act. It will furthermore review the Public Procurement Framework in 2026. The goal is to reach 40% of domestically produced key components of clean tech products on the EU market.
As there are not enough investments to support decarbonisation, electrification and competitiveness of the industry, the Commission will adopt a Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework. In addition, there are plans to strengthen the Innovation Fund and propose an Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, aiming for €100 billion in funding. State aid rules will be simplified to give Member States more flexibility to support decarbonisation.
The Commission announced a New Circular Economy Act in 2026 to reduce dependencies on primary materials imports and create new jobs. The goal is to have 24% of materials circular by 2030. Besides that, an EU Critical Raw Material Centre will jointly purchase raw materials on behalf of interested companies. The idea is that this will offer more leverage to negotiate better conditions.
The Commission aims to ensure the largest possible share of the global market for clean technologies worth $2 trillion in 2035. To achieve this, the EU will launch Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships and establish a range of trade defence and other instruments. It will further simplify and strengthen the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Under the impression of at least 5 Member States that reported a shortage of skilled workers in 27 occupations in 2024, the Commission has announced that it will establish a Union of Skills to ensure that the EU’s workforce has the skills to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. In addition, Erasmus+ will be funded with up to €90 million to “reinforce education and training programs to develop a skilled and adaptable workforce, and address skills shortages in key sectors”.
The Clean Industrial Deal does not make concrete proposals at this stage, but rather sets out future actions. Over the next 18 months, the Commission will come forward with specific measures. However, the package already gives a broad idea of the initiatives to come.
The Clean Industrial Deal can be accessed here and the Affordable Energy Action Plan can be accessed here.
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In the face of significant global headwinds in the sector, green shoots are emerging in 2025 for offshore wind in Asia after a turbulent 24 months.
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Charlotte Hillyard, Senior Innovation Lawyer in the Innovation Design and Technology team and one of Norton Rose Fulbright's Generative AI leads, will be sharing her insight at several prominent legal technology events in the coming week.
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We are delighted to be participating in Marine Money Week New York 2025. As one of the landmark events for the global shipping finance community, and with the global shipping and maritime industry at such a pivotal juncture, we look forward to catching up with clients and contacts to continue discussions around navigating the current challenges and opportunities.
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