The German government, business associations and trade unions formally started talks on Tuesday about how the German economy can meet climate targets. The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants Germany to be climate neutral by 2045.
The three parties that have formed the government since late last year, namely the centre-left SPD, the Greens and the liberal FDP, have further tightened climate targets. Scholz promised his country the biggest economic and industrial transformation in a century.
For Germany’s important industrial production in particular, including the car industry, it will be a tough task. The coalition therefore agreed that “stable and reliable preconditions” for that transition should be discussed in the first half of 2022.
The so-called ‘Allianz für Transformation’, which will meet in Berlin on Tuesday, should partly create these preconditions. In addition to Scholz, other ministers will also sit down at the table, including Minister Robert Habeck of Economy and Climate.
Among other things, the German government wants to invest heavily in the generation of sustainable energy. Partly due to the war in Ukraine, the call for action has increased because Germany wants to get rid of Russian fossil fuels. In addition, energy prices have risen sharply, partly due to the war.