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📌 The Question:
Consider the following statements:

Statement-I: The European Parliament approved the Net-Zero Industry Act recently.
Statement-II: The European Union intends to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and therefore aims to develop all of its own clean technology by that time.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
(c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
(d) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

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✅ Correct Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect

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🔍 Classroom Explanation:

• Statement-I is correct ✅
  The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) was approved by the European Parliament to strengthen domestic manufacturing of clean technologies such as:
  • Solar PV
  • Wind turbines
  • Batteries
  • Heat pumps
  • Electrolysers
  • Carbon capture technologies
  📌 Key targets under NZIA:
  • 40% of EU’s annual clean-tech deployment needs to be manufactured within the EU by 2030
  • 15% share of global clean-tech market value
• Statement-II is incorrect ❌
  The European Union’s legally binding target is climate neutrality by 2050, not 2040.
  While the EU wants to reduce strategic dependence on external suppliers, it does not mandate full self-sufficiency in clean technologies.

👉 Therefore, Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is factually incorrect.

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🧠 Curiosity Raiser:
Why is the EU rushing into clean-tech manufacturing?
Because climate policy + industrial policy + geopolitical security now move together.

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📚 Enrich Notes (Prelims Value-Add):

• Net-Zero Industry Act complements:
  • EU Green Deal
  • Fit for 55 package
• Mirrors US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) response
• Focus: strategic autonomy, not isolation
• Helps counter over-dependence on China-dominated supply chains

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🕊️ IAS Monk Whisper:
“Climate ambition today is written not only in targets — but in factories.”