BERLIN, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- In a discussion paper published on Tuesday, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) is calling for government incentives in combination with CO2 pricing in order to reach Germany's climate targets.
"It is a question of creating reliable framework conditions to effectively stimulate the necessary additional annual investments in the billions," said BDI managing director Holger Loesch, adding that "climate protection can only be afforded through investment and innovation".
At the same time, the BDI stressed that Germany would "not need a culture of abstinence", and called for a "clever mix of instruments consisting of subsidies and CO2 pricing" for the buildings and transport sectors.
A BDI study from 2018 already found that additional investments of 2.3 trillion euros (2.55 trillion U.S. dollars) would be required by 2050. According to the study, 80 percent of these investments would not be self-supporting.
To achieve the EU climate targets in 2030 and 2050, there was need for "additional climate policy instruments" for sectors that were outside the European CO2 trading scheme EU ETS, the BDI announced.
The German industry association is calling on the government to continue a CO2 pricing regime that was "as global as possible" because only a "global, market-based and cross-sector" scheme could be efficient.
All measures that were introduced in Germany now would therefore need to "create framework conditions" that enable a long-term transition to CO2 systems outside Europe as well as the EU-ETS.
As the "most effective measure" that could be implemented in Germany immediately, the BDI is suggesting "technology-open tax incentives" for the energetic modernization of older buildings.
With regards to carbon reduction in transport, the association is also calling for a mix of promotion and CO2 pricing.
"None of the measures alone would be sufficient to effectively stimulate the two key technologies for effective climate protection -- e-mobility and low-CO2 fuels," said Loesch.
