A Brussels Effect for battery sustainability

Liang, Y., Hertwich, E., Istrate, R., Valente, A., & Wang, R. (2026). A Brussels Effect for battery sustainability. Science 393 (6813) 769-771. 10.1126/science.aed8133.

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Abstract

The global battery industry, central to clean-energy transitions, is entering a new phase, shaped not only by technology and finance but also by how sustainability is evidenced. The European Union’s Batteries Regulation (EU 2023/1542) codifies this shift by mandating specific rules for product life-cycle data, calculation rules, and verification procedures for greenhouse gas emissions, material circularity, and responsible sourcing ( 1 ). It signals an emerging “Brussels Effect”: The EU can globalize not only substantive rules, such as carbon footprint thresholds, but also the evidentiary system through which compliance is demonstrated. Batteries offer a test case because the Regulation is the first EU law to take a full life-cycle approach to product sustainability, reaching into supply chains where required evidence is generated outside Europe, and because these evidentiary rules may diffuse to other product domains. The challenge is whether such systems can remain credible when applied globally.

Item Type:	Article
Research Programs:	Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE) Energy, Climate, and Environment (ECE) > Integrated Assessment and Climate Change (IACC)
Depositing User:	Luke Kirwan
Date Deposited:	24 Aug 2026 05:53
Last Modified:	24 Aug 2026 05:53
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/21822

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