“A pact between government and industry on clean energy policy and industry policy”

In its “Future Pact Energiewende Industrial Policy”, think tank Agora Energiewende and consultancy Roland Berger have presented proposals on how to reconcile the competitiveness of the country’s industry with Germany’s energy transition after the federal elections in autumn. The proposals would guarantee dependable investment conditions and competitive energy costs especially for the energy intensive industry. For example, it would introduce an energy transition law that fixes Germany’s climate targets, which “are constantly being discussed in Germany”, said Agora Energiewende director Patrick Graichen at a press conference in Berlin. Taxes and levies on energy sources could be lowered when German competitiveness is at stake, triggered by a yet-to-be detailed international benchmark. Energy-intensive companies, including Thyssenkrupp, Siemens and Wacker Chemie, collaborated on the paper, but this does not mean they fully supported the final charter, said Graichen. The proposal foresees the details of the pact being negotiated between policy makers and business leaders in an institutionalised dialogue process.

Find the press release in English here and the Charter in German here.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.