Advisory Report 43: Climate Leap for Industry – Programme Note 2026–2030

With this advisory report on the Programme note 2026–2030 ‘Climate Leap for Industry’, VARIO responds to the request made by Minister-President Matthias Diependaele. The council does so from the perspective of innovation and entrepreneurship. The recommendations 1 through 9 are more overarching and general in nature, while recommendations 10 through 12 delve deeper into specific recommendations or actions from the programme note.

Recommendation 1: Climate Leap for Industry is a necessary initiative and, due to its unique design, the right vehicle to tackle the dual objective of the climate transition: achieving carbon neutrality without compromising competitiveness. Its function can therefore not be non-binding.

Recommendation 2: The ‘sense of urgency’ is insufficiently reflected in the programme note and requires more drastic actions at a much faster pace than the currently proposed approach. To enable swift action, it is essential to first identify today’s biggest bottlenecks, prioritise among them, and take safeguarding measures if necessary.

Recommendation 3: Energy is crucial and must be given a full and prominent place within Climate Leap for Industry. Therefore, the Energy working group should be launched as soon as possible, so that, in consultation with energy experts- and companies, the necessary actions can be mapped out.

Recommendation 4: Nothing comes for free: the Climate Leap for Industry cannot be financially non-committal either. A structural financial approach is required, taking into account the diverse nature and magnitude of the necessary funding. It should not rely solely on innovation budgets. The question is therefore how the Flemish Government intends to deal with this in times of scarce resources.

Recommendation 5: (Complementary) cooperation and coordination between policy levels is more essential than ever. The mirrored governments at the Flemish and federal levels now offer an opportunity to address this. However, fragmented competences must not become an excuse for delays at the Flemish level.

Recommendation 6: The programme note clearly takes a step in the right direction towards transversality, but this must not remain mere rhetoric and mere alignment in policy documents. It should involve the effective integration of objectives, initiatives, and people. This transversal approach should also be visible in practice, monitored, and adjusted if necessary. Collaboration should not rely on individuals alone but ought to be formalized.

Recommendation 7: Consider establishing a mixed/pooled team from the various relevant policy domains to strengthen the coordinating body.

Recommendation 8: Further develop the evaluation framework and, above all, start working on solid KPIs. In doing so, also take competitiveness into account and avoid focusing solely on the climate aspect.

Recommendation 9: Talent is essential and goes far beyond the scope of the Climate Leap.

Recommendation 10: VARIO welcomes the growing focus on valorisation within the Moonshot initiative. The proposals to translate research into higher TRLs are steps in the right direction, but the council advocates a bolder approach and recommends seeking inspiration from international initiatives.

Recommendation 11: Contracts for Difference (CfDs) are a useful transition instrument for accelerating sustainable investment projects, but require ongoing monitoring to prevent potential market distortions. A sunset clause, which pre-defines when the measure will be terminated, could help mitigate this risk.

Recommendation 12: For the active support of Flemish companies and research institutions in participating in EU research programmes and EU funding mechanisms, VARIO refers to its Advisory Report 31 ‘Optimal leverage and response to EU research, innovation and industrial policy’ (September 2023).