Germany, once the manufacturing powerhouse of Europe, finds itself challenged by carbon/climate risk management developments. Here are a few examples from Clean Energy Wire:
- The German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) argued the country’s
“reform plans to allow the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies should restrict their use to emissions that are impossible to avoid with today’s technologies… The main goal should still be to avoid emissions in the first place, and current plans could lessen the pressure to decarbonise energy and industry, the SRU said. It criticised the current debate for putting the emphasis on the potential of CCS technologies, while risks and limits ‘tend to be underestimated.'”
- Carsten Spohr, Lufthana’s CEO said
“the country’s aviation sector is facing huge difficulties due to higher state charges… National ‘solo attempts’ to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, for example a quota for e-fuels in aviation, would make Germany less attractive compared to other locations… Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings recently announced it would cut its offer in Germany by about 1,000 flights per year and relocate them to other countries in Europe. Budget airline Ryanair in the past week announced it would reduce its offer in Germany due to increasing operating costs caused by regulation.”
- The agriculture ministry (BMEL) issued a report stating that
“Forests across Germany have become a source of carbon dioxide for the first time since records began… The report highlights that the dieback of pine and spruce monocultures, as well as the loss of coniferous forests due to droughts and storms, have affected the ability of forests to store carbon.”
One may be tempted to view these developments as only affecting companies in Germany, but I’m not sure that would be prudent. Rather, companies should consider these as the canary in the coal mine and monitor what happens. It is likely that whatever happens in Germany will ultimately be a precedent for other countries and companies.
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