The raw materials industry must be reorganized to protect the climate.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin According to a study, the planned climate agreements for the restructuring of the raw materials industry could cost the state a good 40 billion euros. In addition to the construction costs for climate-friendly plants of eight billion euros, a further 34 billion euros could be added over ten years for more expensive production, according to the concept of the Agora think tank, which was presented to the Reuters news agency on Monday.
But if EU regulations support the conversion, the total costs could be reduced to up to ten billion euros. “The federal government must now quickly start drafting the climate protection agreements and provide the necessary financial resources in the budget to initiate the transformation of German factories to climate neutrality in a timely and effective manner,” said Frank Peter, Director of Agora Industrie. Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) wants to present plans by the summer at the latest.
The steel, chemical and cement industries are a particular problem because the production processes here cannot easily be converted to renewable electricity. According to Agora, up to half of the systems will have to be replaced in the next few years. Since these have been in operation for well over 20 years, the impetus for the conversion must now be given in order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2045.
With the contracts, Germany wants to reduce the additional costs compared to conventional production. The focus is on the steel sector, the largest CO2 producer in the industry, for which up to 27 billion euros in additional production costs would have to be secured. This is about replacing coking coal with hydrogen, which is generated using wind or solar power.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
In the chemical industry with ammonia production, the costs would be significantly lower. For cement, they could be almost zero if the CO2 were stored underground. However, the Greens reject this CCS technology (Carbon Capture and Storage).
According to the study, the contracts should be accompanied by EU rules that provide for significantly fewer rights to CO2 emissions for conventional production. A tax on “dirty” products at the EU’s external borders would also help to reduce the costs of the contracts.
More: Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour elected Greens leaders – This is how the new party leadership ticks