The German Economy Ministry has attacked EU proposals to tackle climate change as "pointless" if other major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are not also committed to significant reductions. If climate polluters such as China, India and the United States are not also on board, the EU's climate package would end up harming German businesses. Germany's criticisms go to the heart of the EU's climate and energy proposals "Any success achieved in Europe would be pointless," says statement from the Economy Ministry issued on Tuesday (15 July). The ministry laid out a raft of strong criticisms of the package, whose legislative proposals were unveiled by the European Commission in January, in a statement following a conference of German officials and business representatives. Both the industry figures and deputy economy minister Jochen Homann at the meeting had offered reservations about some of the main planks of the climate package because they would hurt German competitiveness, according to a report from Reuters.
The German Economy Ministry has attacked EU proposals to tackle climate change as "pointless" if other major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are not also committed to significant reductions.
If climate polluters such as China, India and the United States are not also on board, the EU's climate package would end up harming German businesses.
Germany's criticisms go to the heart of the EU's climate and energy proposals
"Any success achieved in Europe would be pointless," says statement from the Economy Ministry issued on Tuesday (15 July).
The ministry laid out a raft of strong criticisms of the package, whose legislative proposals were unveiled by the European Commission in January, in a statement following a conference of German officials and business representatives.
Both the industry figures and deputy economy minister Jochen Homann at the meeting had offered reservations about some of the main planks of the climate package because they would hurt German competitiveness, according to a report from Reuters.
Any success achieved in Europe would be pointless
Doesn't sound to me like a criticism that "goes to the heart of" anything at all. It's just standard let's-go-on-doing-what-we-always-did stonewalling.
EU proposals to tackle climate change as "pointless" if other major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are not also committed to significant reductions.
That is largely true: what's the point of putting constraints on industry if they can just move out and do the same work while polluting more elsewhere (we've had 25 years of that already, offshoring our polluting activities to China et al)?
And it points to the solution: trade barriers against countries that do not apply the same standards in the relevant industries. Time to try a wedge in the "free trade" ideology that doesn't mind technical and financial rules to be standardised but somehow doesn't accept the same for labor or environmental ones. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
From the Reuters dispatch referenced by EUObserver:
EU climate package needs improvement, Germany says | Environment | Reuters
- Cutting the quota of emissions trading permits would push up the price of certificates and as a big fossil fuels burner Germany would be especially hard hit.<...>"Due to exploding oil and gas prices, further measures to achieve climate goals should be considered only with great caution," the ministry said. "Rising energy prices are already a strong incentive to investment in renewable energies, energy savings and energy efficiency," it added.
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"Due to exploding oil and gas prices, further measures to achieve climate goals should be considered only with great caution," the ministry said.
"Rising energy prices are already a strong incentive to investment in renewable energies, energy savings and energy efficiency," it added.
They simply attack the emissions reduction scheme without calling for tariffs. Fran posts here an article from Manager Magazin reproduced in Spiegel that looks like another side of the same campaign. Emissions trading is so costly businesses will relocate, is the message:
The EU's Carbon Trading Scheme: Killing Jobs to Save the Climate - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
carbon trading will have a direct impact on which countries firms chose to locate in.
Here there's just a threat to move to Ukraine if regulation is not eased. And, from the ministry above, a "let-the-market-handle-it" line. They're not campaigning for protective tariffs, they're fighting emissions trading schemes (unless toothless).
In other words, though you're right we need a global approach, I think I'm right too that this banging on the drum is just Germany calling for absence of constraints.
