Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) has firmly opposed any efforts to scrap carbon dioxide pricing mechanisms. Speaking on Friday, he stated that achieving industrial decarbonization requires reliable and economically viable frameworks. According to Schneider, these necessary conditions include maintaining a stable CO2 price, supporting a robust European Emissions Trading System equipped with an effective border adjustment mechanism, expanding hydrogen infrastructure, and ensuring competitive energy prices. He stressed that only by providing companies with investment certainty can the necessary billions in investment for climate-neutral production be triggered.
This stance contrasts with earlier discussions, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had previously considered delaying or revising the European Emissions Trading System in early March. Furthermore, various industry representatives have recently demanded the complete elimination of such pricing systems.
Addressing these challenges, Schneider emphasized that the world is currently in a race to dominate clean technologies. He declared his desire for Germany and Europe to become leading centers for manufacturing the best electric cars, batteries, heat pumps, electrolyzers, and wind turbines. He also specifically called for the production of green steel within the region.
For Schneider, the electrification of industry is fundamental to Germany’s future innovation and growth. He concluded by asserting that scaling up technologies such as hydrogen, electric steel, renewable energy sources, and climate-neutral technologies is not simply a measure of climate protection policy-it is, rather, an active and strategic direction for the industrial and economic policy of the nation.
