Dusseldorf There is a real chaos on the electricity market at the moment. Since some energy discounters stop their deliveries, numerous customers slip into the basic supply and have to accept higher tariffs. The energy price crisis is also affecting the Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck from the Greens, who spoke to Handelsblatt editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes about the problem at the energy summit. The conversation can be heard in the current episode of the “Handelsblatt Disrupt” podcast.
“Winter is a real burden for many people,” said Habeck. The high cost of living, sharply increased energy costs and the collapse of cheap energy providers are “enormous social hardship”. According to Habeck, the speculation of low-cost suppliers “to stock up on electricity at low prices forever” is “not a resilient business model”. The system must become more transparent.
“The fact that people in good faith that they have received a cheap offer now find themselves in the more expensive basic service tariff cannot simply remain without consequences,” announced Habeck.
He wants to support companies in the green conversion “with a mid three-digit billion amount”. He announced that he would create the legal and financial prerequisites for the provision of climate protection contracts (Carbon Contracts for Difference, or CCfD for short).
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The state assures companies that they will bear the additional costs for investments in climate-neutral processes compared to investments in conventional technology. There will be no shortage of money, Habeck promised. “In the coalition talks, we agreed that what is needed will also be financed – the main thing is that it works.”
How Wissing wants to create the mobility turnaround
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) caused a stir in his own party with his commitment to the electric car as the vehicle of the future. In his first speech as a minister in the Bundestag, he spoke of an openness to technology towards “every contribution to CO2 reduction”. At the Handelsblatt energy summit, he justified himself and presented his plans for a mobility turnaround. “We want to have electrically powered vehicles,” said Wissing.
Of course, hybrid vehicles would contribute to this. “But ideally they’ll be all-electric cars,” he said. This means that if a total of 15 million electric cars are to be sold by 2030, every second car sold would have to be an electric car from today. “We cannot hesitate and wait until there is a solution,” said Wissing. Potential buyers could continue to count on support going forward. “We will accompany this accordingly with funding programs and the expansion of charging infrastructure.”
On the subject of speed limits, Wissing said that he understood that people were concerned. “But it’s a topic that doesn’t solve the problems in the mobility sector, especially in the car sector, at all. It’s a very small topic, even if it’s a very emotional one.”
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More: The previous episode of Handelsblatt Disrupt can be found here