Unwanted effects of European Union environmental policy to promote a post-carbon industry. The case of energy in the European ceramic tile sector D. Gabald  on-Estevan a, * , A. Mezquita b , S. Ferrer b , E. Monfort b a Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of Valencia, Spain b Instituto de Tecnología Cer amica (ITC), Asociaci on de Investigaci on de las Industrias Cer amicas (AICE), Universitat Jaume I, Castell on, Spain article info Article history: Received 15 December 2014 Received in revised form 7 January 2016 Accepted 8 January 2016 Available online 15 January 2016 Keywords: Environmental policy Post carbon transition EU policy Tile industry abstract Global warming combined with low carbon transition plans is threatening the future of high energy consumption industry sectors in the European Union (EU). The need to respond to environmental challenges is demonstrated by support for international level energy policies and legal requirements, such as the Kyoto Protocol which the EU supports, and increased EU-level environmental legislation and energy policies. The effect of these initiatives is gradually transforming industrial activities in the EU. However, since not all countries have adopted these policies, evaluation of their net effect needs to take account also of side-effects such as delocalization of industry activity and the legal environmental frameworks in the countries where companies have chosen to relocate. This paper analyses EU energy policy and its impact on a particular energy intensive industry, the European ceramic tile sector. The discussion in this paper is not about the purpose of EU legislation, but about its effects on a specific industry. The effect of policy on industry is not a new topic, but the question of the unwanted effects of environmental and energy policy on European industry is becoming more relevant as the struggle to achieve a post-carbon Europe increases. In focussing on a specific set of EU legislation on a particular industry this article adds to the debate by showing the negative effects of policy mechanisms. The need for a scientific evaluation of the systemic changes required for a transition to a resource-efficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy outlined in the 7th Environment Action Programme is highlighted. It is suggested that the EU should periodically re-evaluate its Emissions Trading Scheme legislation to include specific actions and a follow up system which would prevent the best performing environmental companies from delocalizing or shutting down. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction There is growing concern about the unsustainability of the production model in the so-called developed countries, given the diminishing capacity of the environment to assimilate the impacts of economic activity in a non-traumatic way (Huisingh et al., 2015; Lockie et al., 2013; Rockstrom et al., 2009). The situation is being exacerbated by the rapid growth of other economies especially Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC countries) and the consequent greater demand for energy and raw materials to feed that growth (Pao and Tsai, 2010, 2011a,b). At the same time, there is increased public awareness of the diminishing capacity of the environment to assimilate the impacts of human activity, and continuous demands for environmental sustainability (European Commission, 2014; Hajer, 1995; Rogers et al., 2008). At the institutional level, this concern is reflected in support for energy policies and international legal requirements such as the Kyoto Protocol (B€ ohringer et al., 2009a,b; Jordan and Lenschow, 2000). Also, academic attention has been directed towards energy and sustainability policies and their effect on industry (L opez-Gamero et al., 2010; Vera and Langlois, 2007; Weber and Rohracher, 2012). Debate in the EU over the sustainability of ‘traditional’ industries (Dewald and Achternbosch, 2015), such as the ceramic tile industry (Gabald on- Estevan et al., 2014), is being fuelled by the major trans- formations induced by the process of globalization and the * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: Daniel.Gabaldon@uv.es (D. Gabald on-Estevan), ana. mezquita@itc.uji.es (A. Mezquita), salvador.ferrer@itc.uji.es (S. Ferrer), eliseo. monfort@itc.uji.es (E. Monfort). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Cleaner Production journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.01.021 0959-6526/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Cleaner Production 117 (2016) 41e49