Climate-friendly production is often associated with higher costs. This is where the planned climate protection treaties should take effect.
According to the will of Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), companies from particularly energy-hungry sectors should soon be able to apply for so-called climate protection contracts. Those interested in state funding have two months from Tuesday to participate in the preparatory process, as the ministry announced on Monday in Berlin. Participation is a prerequisite for later participation in the bidding process, in which companies can submit their project. There should be a first later this year.
In the case of a climate protection agreement, the state should guarantee the company a compensation payment that compensates it for the higher costs of climate-friendly production. In addition, the company should be protected against uncertainties, for example in the price development of hydrogen. Addressees are energy-intensive industrial sectors, such as the steel, cement, paper or glass industries. Climate protection agreements are also mentioned as a possible instrument in the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP.
An amount in the middle double-digit billions is initially planned, as Habeck said. “Lowest bid first, until the money is gone,” Habeck described the subsequent bidding process. In the end, everyone benefited from the development of new, more climate-friendly production techniques. But there are two important reservations: On the one hand, the EU Commission has to approve the plans because state subsidies for industry always raise the question of possible distortions of competition in Europe. Habeck said there was a basic approval of the Brussels authorities, further open questions must be clarified in the course. And secondly, the money must be made available in the federal budget, which is not yet available.
Source: Stern
