Armin Laschet, the frontrunner to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor has warned the EU that joint greenhouse gas targets must not come at the cost of diminishing German industry, signalling a reluctance to join carbon reduction schemes planned in other European countries.
“Europe has to be modernised: we have to implement the Green Deal together but still remain successful with our industries,” Laschet, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader, stated. “That’s the part that they don’t say out quite so loud in Brussels, but it’s what we expect in Germany: that we do everything to modernise our industries. There are many member states that are no longer industrialised economies. But us, and a couple of others, we want to stay that way.”
Under his leadership targets would be met by focusing on technological innovation and market incentives, rather than restrictions on consumer behaviour such as higher taxes on air travel or a ban on combustion engines.
“Much can be done with technological innovation and the means of the market,” Laschet said. “The European Union CO2 emissions trading system, for example..."
“To adjust our steel industry and our chemical industry so it becomes climate neutral will amount to an enormous reduction of emissions, the like of which history has never seen before. That’s why I believe it can be done without preaching abstinence or proscription. As a society, we have the technological means to become climate neutral and still remain an industrial nation.”
Scientists question whether technological research can come up with game-changing innovations over the next decade. Work on “negative emissions” technology – sucking the CO2 out of the air to compensate for the ongoing release – has yet to yield a breakthrough, for example.
"...Of course we Europeans could eat less meat, and it would probably be healthier. But ultimately climate change can only be solved globally,” he said.
Joint CO2 targets must not diminish German industry, CDU leader warns EU | Germany | The Guardian
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