SPD chancellor candidate Scholz wants EU-wide carbon price for heating and transport

The European Union should establish a new carbon trading system for transport and heating, said Olaf Scholz, German finance minister and lead candidate for the Social Democrats in the autumn general elections. The system should run separately from the existing EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the power and industry sector and replace the current effort-sharing approach that leaves emission reductions in the non-ETS sectors in the responsibility of each member state. Both on a fiscal level and from an energy policy point of view, there are strong arguments for getting a new emissions trading system in place, Scholz said, adding that the EU needs new income streams to pay back the debts created by economic stimulus during the Covid pandemic.

Talking about the progress of Germany’s energy transition, Scholz demanded drastic acceleration of the power grid expansion and faster planning procedures for renewable energy projects. “Onshore wind projects must get planning permission within six months, a not-very big solar installation within six weeks,” Scholz said. He argued that the (CDU-led) energy ministry is ignoring the additional future needs for electricity in the hydrogen economy, electric mobility and heat pumps. “We have a completely wrong assessment. The figures that are out there today are an electricity lie," said Scholz. His SPD is trailing behind the CDU-CSU and the Green Party in the polls.