A leading UK academic has hit back at the US ambassador who called on the EU to repeal sustainability due diligence laws, by arguing that Europe’s competitiveness does not rely on helping fossil fuel suppliers.

Lindsay Hooper, chief executive of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, writes in the Financial Times that Andrew Puzder, US ambassador to the EU, is mistaken in his call for an end to the due diligence directive.

“This rests on a misplaced assumption that Europe’s competitiveness depends on weakening its own standards to accommodate the interests of a small group of fossil fuel suppliers,” Hooper writes.

The response comes after Puzder wrote his own comment piece in the FT, arguing that the EU was in “decline” and must “reindustrialise”. To do this, Puzder argues the EU needs “substantial supplies of reliable fossil fuels from dependable allies”. In turn, that will require the repeal of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

Hooper argues Puzder’s real concern is the competitiveness of fossil fuel producers.

‘Clear, predictable standards’

“Many European businesses who we work with take a different view,” she writes. “They have invested to improve efficiency and resilience, and they understand that clear, predictable sustainability standards reduce regulatory uncertainty, strengthen risk management and create the level playing field needed for long-term capital allocation.

“Diluting these rules in response to external pressure would disadvantage companies that are already upgrading operations and would slow Europe’s ability to compete with countries building leadership in clean industrial sectors, including China.”

The due diligence directive has long been a target for US politicians and business groups. In November, the US Chambers of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers wrote to Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, calling for pressure on the EU to end the “extraterritorial” nature of the legislation, describing it as “egregious”.

In a highly controversial move, the so-called omnibus review recently agreed to reduce the scope of the CSDDD, alongside the scope of its sister legislation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

However, US interest in EU sustainability legislation means the two directives are unlikely to cease being controversial any time soon.