The Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in Magdeburg and Halle-Dessau have spoken out against the federal government’s planned increase in the price of CO 2 for refueling and heating.
“We oblige the economy to invest in climate protection measures and withdraw their funds in the next moment,” said Klaus Olbricht, President of the IHK Magdeburg, on Tuesday according to the announcement. “The option of recovering part of the expenditure through funding programs seems like a step towards further bureaucratization and not like effective climate protection.”
The federal government wants to increase the CO 2 price for fueling and heating with fossil fuels more than previously planned. It is set to rise to EUR 40 per tonne on January 1 – it is currently EUR 30. Previous plans called for an increase to 35 euros. The proceeds flow into the climate and transformation fund, the central instrument for investments in the energy transition. The higher CO 2 price should ensure that filling up with petrol and diesel and heating with oil and gas will become more expensive.
According to the chambers, government support for companies in the context of climate protection is inconsistent and indefinite.
“There is no overall concept. Even climate protection and energy policy are hardly coordinated, if you add economic policy, it gets even worse,” said Thomas Brockmeier, General Manager of the IHK Halle-Dessau, according to the announcement. “Barely effective and then also uneconomical – that’s really not a good combination.”
The current 30-euro CO 2 price must be maintained in order to maintain competitiveness, it said.
Source: www.transport-online.de