Opening speech by President von der Leyen at the European Clean Tech Conference, via video message

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour to welcome you to the Clean Tech Conference 2026. Today is about Europe's world-leading clean tech community - a sector creating 100,000 new jobs each year.

There is incredible innovation happening across our continent. Companies turning industrial waste into energy, harnessing wind to power modern shipping, or developing geothermal energy at industrial scale.

You are proof that Europe can lead the industries of tomorrow.

That leadership has never been more important. The situation in the Middle East is sending shockwaves across the world. Thanks to the actions we have taken in recent years we are less exposed than before, but we are not immune.

As long as we rely on oil and gas, we remain vulnerable. If we want true independence, we must accelerate electrification. Consumers are already moving - electric vehicle purchases, for example, have risen by 51% since the start of the war.

But we also need to do more at a European level. That is why we will present an Electrification Action Plan – with clear targets to end our exposure to fossil fuel prices shocks for good.

Electrification and homegrown clean energy are the path to independence. But we must also ensure these technologies are developed and manufactured in Europe. We have strong foundations, from offshore wind to electrolysers. And two-thirds of Europe's heat pumps are made here.

Yet we face increasingly tough, and often unfair, global competition. That is why we introduced the Industrial Accelerator Act – to simplify rules, speed up permitting, and ensure that foreign investments deliver real value to Europe.

And by introducing “Made in EU” and low-carbon criteria whenever public authorities buy goods and services, we are making sure that taxpayers' money flows to our own European industry.

Finally, we need to unlock the vast investments needed for the clean transition. The Emissions Trading System is key. And we know it works - since 2005, emissions have fallen by 39% in covered sectors, while the economy has grown by 71%. It has generated over EUR 260 billion.

At European level, 100% of these revenues are re-invested into clean innovation. But that is not so at national level. And that will be the focus of the ETS reform this summer. ETS revenues must be channelled back into European businesses. This money comes from industry - and it must be used to build the clean industries of tomorrow.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Clean tech means security. It means growth. It means quality jobs here in Europe.

Now is the moment for us to double down. Because Europe must not just use the clean technologies of the future, we must build them.

Thank you and I wish you a productive conference.