In the view of the Association of German Engineers (VDI), climate protection agreements are an important step towards increasing the competitiveness of German industry and protecting the climate. VDI expert Harald Bradke sees a clear competitive advantage, particularly in terms of costs. The funding program is not only an instrument to further accelerate climate protection in the energy-intensive industry in Germany and to maintain its profitability, but also to bring the conversion of this important production of basic materials up to date technologically.
"Production in old, depreciated plants based on fossil fuels without sufficiently pricing in the environmental damage this causes is naturally cheaper than switching to new, more environmentally friendly production processes," says Prof. Bradke, Chairman of the Interdisciplinary Panel on Climate Protection and the Energy Transition. "Not only do new plants have to earn their investment costs, but the climate-neutral energy sources required for their operation - in particular hydrogen produced in an environmentally friendly way - and the infrastructure required for this are still expensive at first."
In the medium term, it is to be expected that the costs of fossil systems will be higher than the costs of climate-friendly energy sources due to rising prices for emission certificates
With the help of climate protection contracts, the additional costs for environmentally friendly technologies and the additional costs for the energy sources required for operation can be offset by the federal government compared to fossil fuels. "If the costs for fossil fuels, in particular the costs for emission certificates, increase, the differential costs of climate-neutral technologies compared to conventional ones decrease and their compensation decreases accordingly," explains the VDI expert. In the medium term, it is to be expected that the costs of fossil systems will be higher than the costs of climate-friendly energy sources, which will become cheaper due to technological progress and larger quantities, due to the rising prices for emission certificates.
Bradke sees a competitive advantage over companies that continue to use the old technologies and fossil fuels, "as they can now not only produce in a more environmentally friendly way, but also more cheaply."
