On April 22, ORF America convened an EU–Global South policy dialogue in Brussels on Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships (CTIPs) for the Energy Transition. The day-long conference brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and experts at a moment when trade policy is rapidly becoming central to how countries pursue clean energy, industrial growth, and economic competitiveness.
As clean technologies, from renewable power and hydrogen to batteries and critical minerals, become deeply embedded in global value chains, CTIPs are emerging as a new model that links trade, industrial cooperation, and investment in a more integrated way. Against this backdrop, the dialogue examined how CTIPs can strengthen supply chain resilience, unlock investment in clean industries, and enable more effective and mutually beneficial clean technology partnerships between Europe and Global South economies.
Among others, speakers included:
Keynote: Tomas Baert, Member of Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission
Special Remarks: Sifiso Mangali, First Secretary, Political, The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Mission to the European Union
Special Remarks on the Energy-Security Nexus: Dominik P. Jankowski, Deputy Secretary General for Policy and Outreach, NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Special Remarks on Climate and Trade Governance: Aik Hoe Lim, Director, Trade and Environment Division, World Trade Organization
Parliamentary Perspectives by Baroness Denise Kingsmill, Member, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and UK House of Lords; Hildegard Bentele, Member, European Parliament; and Udo Bullmann, Member, European Parliament
Key Takeaways
Why CTIPs?
Shift from Extractive Models: CTIPs offer a pathway to move beyond traditional extractive approaches toward partnerships that prioritize local value creation. Discussions highlighted their potential to position the energy transition as an engine of industrialization in the Global South, supporting domestic processing, manufacturing, and job creation rather than continued reliance on raw material exports.
Addressing Green Protectionism: Mechanisms such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) were widely viewed by Global South stakeholders as potential constraints on competitiveness and market access. In this context, CTIPs can provide a structured platform for transparency, regulatory cooperation, and targeted support —through finance and capacity building — to help partner countries meet compliance requirements without undermining industrial development and growth.
The Energy–Security Nexus: As energy becomes increasingly intertwined with national security and geopolitical stability, CTIPs can help diversify and strengthen clean energy supply chains. Participants discussed their role in reducing overdependence on concentrated sources, enhancing resilience, and fostering more balanced and secure partnerships across regions.
What are CTIPs?
CTIPs as a New Policy Instrument: CTIPs are emerging as a flexible and targeted tool within the EU’s broader green industrial and cooperation strategy. Unlike traditional instruments such as free trade agreements or development assistance, CTIPs are designed to be faster, more focused, and capable of addressing specific bottlenecks across clean industrial value chains.
Integration of Trade, Investment, and Industry: CTIPs go beyond conventional trade policy by linking trade to investment, industrial cooperation, regulatory alignment, and technology partnerships. This integrated approach reflects a broader shift toward aligning trade, climate, and industrial objectives in a more coordinated and strategic manner.
Targeted and Sector-Focused Approach: Rather than broad, economy-wide agreements, CTIPs are structured to focus on specific sectors and value chains — such as clean energy technologies, critical minerals, or industrial decarbonization — allowing for more practical and tailored cooperation.
Flexible and Time-Bound Implementation: CTIPs are designed to operate through flexible, modular arrangements that can deliver targeted outcomes within shorter political and industrial timelines, enabling faster implementation compared to traditional trade or cooperation frameworks.
How can CTIPs deliver for the Global South?
Addressing Execution and Bankability Constraints: CTIPs can help tackle core implementation bottlenecks, such as permitting delays, grid readiness, and weak industrial ecosystems, by aligning policy support, technical assistance, and investment frameworks to make projects more bankable and investment-ready.
Reducing the Cost of Capital: By leveraging blended finance, risk-sharing instruments, and coordinated public–private investment platforms, CTIPs can help lower the cost of capital in emerging economies and unlock large-scale clean energy deployment.
Creating Demand Certainty: CTIPs can support the development of demand-side mechanisms, such as offtake agreements and green public procurement, that provide long-term market signals and reduce investment risk for clean technologies and products.
Advancing Regulatory Alignment and Standards: By promoting alignment with international standards and supporting regulatory cooperation, CTIPs can reduce trade frictions, enhance market access, and enable Global South producers to integrate into global clean value chains.
Enabling Green Comparative Advantage: CTIPs can facilitate the strategic development of industries based on clean energy availability and low-emissions production, helping partner countries build competitive advantage in emerging green sectors.
Strengthening Technology Partnerships: CTIPs can go beyond commercial transactions to support more accessible and affordable technology transfer, fostering domestic manufacturing capacity and innovation ecosystems in partner economies.
Building Skills and Institutional Capacity: By investing in workforce development, institutional strengthening, and shared frameworks, CTIPs can address foundational gaps that often constrain effective implementation and long-term scalability.
Supporting Layered and Complementary Cooperation: CTIPs can function alongside multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, providing a flexible platform for targeted bilateral action while reinforcing broader international cooperation.
Ensuring Inclusive and Accountable Implementation: Through transparency, democratic oversight, and engagement with civil society, industry, and labor groups, CTIPs can build political legitimacy and ensure that partnerships are both effective and sustainable.
Photography Credit: ©www.agencephotographique.com