Franziska Brantner, co‑chair of the Greens, rejected Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s (CDU) proposal to revise the EU’s existing CO₂‑emission trading system and, if necessary, postpone further steps due to the tight economic climate. Speaking on RTL and ntv’s “Frühstart” programme on Thursday, she said, “That is wrong. Our goal is to preserve and renew our prosperity, but to do so without destroying the planet” and added that Germany should develop and profit from the required technologies instead of outsourcing this to China.
Brantner emphasized the importance of sustaining predictability and rewarding climate protection. She reminded that it is a market mechanism for which Mr Merz had previously expressed support. “Now the focus is on boosting European competitiveness, accelerating and simplifying processes, and protecting our industry from unfair competition” she said.
According to the Greens’ chief, the federal government could lower the electricity tax, stabilize indirect wage costs, and invest more in innovation. “Shifting the future into the past and claiming we won’t pursue a sustainable path of prosperity is absurd” Brantner urged. “The Chinese make a lot of money from this-so should we”.
The two CO₂‑emission trading schemes are regarded as the EU’s most important climate‑change instruments because they cap the amount of CO₂ that can be emitted in each sector. Presently, the number of certificates issued under the EU‑ETS‑1 for the energy and industrial sectors is cut by 4.4 % each year, so that the supply will be exhausted by 2039. Companies still receive a share of certificates for free, but the free allocation is set to be sharply reduced from this year onward.
Revenue from the carbon‑trading system feeds into Germany’s Climate and Transformation Fund. Funds from this pool finance projects such as the expansion of renewable energies, promotion of electric mobility, energy‑efficient building renovations, hydrogen initiatives, and the shift to climate‑friendly industrial processes.
