“Short term thinking”: economy: industry has stopped climate protection

“Short term thinking”
Economy: the industry has stopped climate protection

The Nuremberg-based Economics Professor and the “economic way” Veronika Grimm has accused the German industry to have slowed down structural change towards more climate protection to a long time aware of.

“You can’t stop hiding the fact that the industry has partly tried to make this structural change. Can’t get revenge now, if the crucial components for a climate-friend get more business from Europe,” said Grimm of the German press Agency.

Even politicians have their share of this Problem. “The structures have favored. The policy has to be said, for example, willingly, again and again, the production of gas engines-driven, and thereby the pressure, to initiate changes, kept low”, Grimm. “It has to be thought of in the short term, and conservation enterprises. This has proved to be ex post not to be wise,” stressed the economy.

In the transport, it had not managed to reduce since 1990, the CO2-emissions. By the tightening of climate targets in the EU and in Germany, there is a considerable pressure to act, with a view to the year 2030, emerging now. “In transport, we face major challenges, ten years are based on the vehicle fleet actually does nothing,” said Grimm.

However, it should always bear in mind that political decisions will have to learn social acceptance. Not least, the climate movement of the last years have made a paradigm shift possible. Climate protection will offer large industrial, political opportunities, and mountains of considerable growth potential.

“This means that we need to move now also really consistent in the direction of the technologies of the future,” said Grimm. Especially positive is the fact that the Federal government in their Corona-aid packages have made investments for climate protection in the time of crisis. “The money is on the table, we must now use to accelerate the change towards a climate-neutral technologies, and to mobilize in particular private capital,” said the economist. She is since April, the Council of experts economy, the main economic policy Advisory body to the Federal government.

According to Grimm, the Interaction of the large technology competence were opened in Germany and the good opportunities for the production of renewable energies in the southern EU countries a perspective for Europe. “We should create the structure of the Fund through a joint investment in the future cohesion in Europe,” she said.

“With the digitisation of the is more difficult,” added Grimm. Here is pent-up demand, for example, in healthcare, in education or in the public sector exists. “The Corona-crisis has shown us: much more could be digitized already.”

dpa