Berlin/Frankfurt – Industry in Germany is facing a double challenge: It has to deal with the acute consequences of the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine and at the same time shape the long-term change towards climate-neutral and digital production processes. Against this background, the “Alliance for the Future of Industry” has now presented comprehensive proposals for securing industrial value creation in Germany. With its concrete recommendations on topics of national and European climate and energy policy, the alliance is pursuing the goal of making Germany fit for the future as an industrial location and strengthening it in terms of secure and well-paid jobs.
Jörg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall: “We must use the current crises as an opportunity to drive forward the transformation with even more determination and thus secure industrial value creation and thus good jobs in the long term. It is important to set the right course now and to invest in the technologies and markets of the future. Politicians must create the necessary framework conditions for this. The accelerated expansion of renewable energies and the faster ramp-up of the hydrogen economy are particularly urgent. One thing is clear: the climate-friendly transformation of industry will only succeed if we make it ecological, social and fair.”
Siegfried Russwurm, President of the Federation of German Industries: “Germany wants to become climate-neutral as quickly as possible – that is both a challenge and an opportunity. The German economy offers the best conditions for a successful transformation with its high proportion of industry and closely linked value chains, especially in the successful cooperation of large companies and numerous medium-sized companies. For a climate-neutral industrialized country, companies and their employees depend on a policy that strengthens innovation and investment. The focus should be on faster and simpler planning and approval procedures and the development of new European value creation networks. Despite the multiple crises, politicians must now resolutely push ahead with strengthening the industrial location.”
Under the motto “Shape and secure the future of industry now”, industrial unions, business and employer associations have jointly identified six areas in which there is an urgent need for action: securing energy supplies, increasing resilience, further developing raw material strategies, accelerating transformation, investing in modern infrastructure, the shortage of skilled workers counteract. The alliance’s proposals are now to be discussed in various forums over the coming weeks as part of a nationwide dialogue initiative. The highlight of the dialogue initiative is an industry conference on November 29th with representatives from politics, science, industry and society.
Please note the full recommendations of the Alliance for the Future of Industry.Alliance Commitment November 2022