EU climate goals under pressure: German economy warns of excessive demands!

EU climate goals under pressure: German economy warns of excessive demands!

The EU Commission is planning to tighten the climate goals, which is widely concerned in the German economy. The proposals include a reduction in greenhouse gases by 90 percent by 2040, based on the values from 1990. to 2025, a decrease of 55 percent is to be achieved, which experts classify as extremely ambitious. In view of the current economic conditions and the existing challenges, industry fears that these new goals are unrealistic.

The general manager of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Achim Dercks, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the ever increasing climate goals cause a "deep uncertainty" in the economy. Ingbert Liebing, Managing Director of the Association of Local Companies, added that constant tightening long -term goals was not a solution to achieve short -term goals that turn out to be difficult.

economic concerns and challenges

A central problem is to finance the necessary changes. Especially the electrification and technologies for carbon separation (CCS) require extensive investments in new infrastructure. However, these changes are also associated with high costs, and the incentives are currently unfavorable because fossil fuels remain cheaper. This is perceived as a great obstacle to the transition to a more sustainable economy.

Another aspect is the current constitution of the German economy. According to an investigation by the Agora Energy transition thought factory, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent in 2023, but largely due to production declines in industry. In sectors such as traffic and buildings, only minor progress was made, which underlines the challenges in implementing the climate goals. For example, CO₂ emissions in traffic are only eleven percent below the 1990 values, although this sector is almost 20 percent of emissions.

scientific concerns and the reality of climate change

On the other hand, there are climate science voices that the EU urgently warn. The scientific consortium Climate Action Tracker has found that the EU is expected to achieve its goals by 2030. Instead, it is predicted that the approaches are not even sufficient to limit global warming to three degrees. To realize the stop at 1.5 degrees, as required in the Paris Agreement, would have to be done more than is currently in prospect.

The EU Commission reports that emissions have already been reduced by 32.5 percent by 2022. Nevertheless, the country would have to achieve the same thing over the next eight years, which has happened in the past thirty years. This raises serious questions about the feasibility of the planned goals. Liebing emphasizes that reality is more difficult to accept and that a definition of a reduction of 90 percent would be premature by 2040, since the existing acceptance of climate protection could be endangered.

A look at Norway shows, however, that more successful approaches are possible. Its plans stipulate that 100 percent of all new registrations will be e-cars by 2025. This is largely due to the comprehensive incentives that the country has set for emission -free vehicles. In the building sector, a nationwide use of heat pumps will also be sought in Norway by 2030, which should inspire Germany to rethink and accelerate its own requirements and implementations.

The current discussions about the climate goals are characterized by both economic concerns and scientific concerns. The continuing challenges associated with the implementation of ambitious climate goals could easily lead to a setback in the progress of environmental policy and the support of climate protection measures in Europe. The next time will be crucial to find out whether a balance between economic realities and the urgently needed climate protection measures can be found. Further information can be found in a detailed report on www.fr.de .