“Climate change is a big challenge to handle. The EU is leading and must continue to lead the way in mitigating climate change by delivering on ambitious climate goals and boosting growth and competitiveness.” (Peter Kullgren, Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs in his forward in the working paper)

To withstand the manifold consequences of the climate change, a more comprehensive green transition process is needed. Green industrialisation is one building block of this transition process and relies on moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, increasing resource efficiency and transitioning to a circular economy. Green industrialisation requires far-reaching socio-economic changes, not only in the way industries produce and businesses are run, but also in the way governments facilitate such transition processes.

In cooperation with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU and Nordregio, the ESPON EGTC dived into this matter and gathered territorial evidence and good examples to support decision-makers at local, regional, national and EU levels to learn about the benefits of implementing green industrialisation solutions and the challenges that can be encountered.

The ESPON seminar in Luleå underlined that, what is probably needed most is imagination and the capacity to develop positive visions for the future. We need forward-looking planners/decision makers that dare, that are audacious, brave and bold, as well as like-minded, committed citizens that are willing to play a role.

The policy brief and working paper aim to inspire stakeholders, at different levels of governance, to be brave and bold. The two documents present approaches, implemented in different regions and Member States, to discuss opportunities that can occur in regions that undergo transition processes, challenges that can be encountered and solutions to benefitting from green industrialisation.

The policy brief provides a condensed and focused overview of issues potentially encountered by regions throughout their green industrialisation processes and ways to address these issues.

The working paper provides a more detailed overview presenting more details on the challenges encountered and solutions found, but also tools to address these challenges and many good practices.