Sharp criticism of the Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65; SPD): The head of Germany’s largest industrial association (BDI) Siegfried Russwurm (60) has described the federal government’s energy policy as “absolutely toxic”. The German climate agenda is “more dogmatic than in any other country I know,” said Russwurm the Financial Times
“.
Russwurm believes that phasing out nuclear energy and coal at the same time is unrealistic. He sees this as putting German companies at a disadvantage compared to international competitors. “Nobody can say with certainty today what our energy supply will look like in seven years, and therefore nobody can say what the energy prices will be Germany “Then it will be,” he said. “For companies that have to make investment decisions, this is absolutely toxic.”
100 percent is too ambitious
Aspires to 2045 Germany Climate neutrality. By 2030, 80 percent of electricity should come from wind and solar energy. Russwurm warns: The last 10 percent of the energy transition could be extremely expensive. He questions the 100 percent goal as too ambitious.
Russwurm emphasizes that business is in favor of the green transition. However, the ministers failed to explain to companies how they should act if wind and solar energy sources fail. “We urgently need clarity about the creation of reliable reserve capacities and the timetable for this,” he continued to the “FT”.
The authorities contradict this criticism. They point to a new strategy that was adopted on Monday. This strategy envisages the construction and promotion of new gas power plants that can later be converted to hydrogen. This is to ensure that there are enough reserves for wind turbines and solar panels.
Nevertheless, the energy problem remains acute. Russwurm points out that companies in… France pay only half of what German companies have to pay for electricity.
Other business associations have also increasingly criticized the government’s energy policy since the outbreak of the Ukraine-war. They criticize high taxes, slow approval processes and an outdated public administration compared to high interest rates, weak export demand and rising energy prices in the country. Rainer Dulger, President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, had particularly harsh words: Business has lost trust in the government.
German companies are leaving
The dissatisfaction can also be identified in real numbers. The gross domestic product of Germany fell by 0.3 percent last year. In December Exports fell by 4.6 percent – more than expected. The OECD forecasts for 2024 a growth of only 1.1 percent
. This is well below the OECD average of 3 percent. The “Economist” even called Germany “the sick man of Europe” again.
In addition, German companies are investing more and more abroad. Russwurm leads them USA as an example where Biden’s Anti-Inflation Act (IRA) lures with subsidies. Companies that invest in green technologies in particular benefit in the country. Two particularly important cases that are increasingly investing abroad: car company Volkswagen decided last year to build a battery factory in the USA. Chemical company BASF invested ten billion euros in a modern petrochemical plant China.
The traffic light coalition meanwhile, argues about how it can promote economic growth. On Monday, the federal government agreed to convert the power supply in Germany. New gas power plants, which will later be operated with hydrogen, will in future be available as “backups” to secure electricity generation from renewable energies from wind and solar – at the lowest possible cost for electricity customers. After long negotiations, Chancellor Scholz, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (54; Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (45; FDP) agreed on a power plant strategy, as the federal government announced on Monday in Berlin. There should be a political agreement on the future design of the electricity market by summer at the latest. Important questions still remain unanswered.