Germany earmarks $3 billion for decarbonisation subsidies
Berlin to subsidise companies in exchange for emissions cuts
Has awarded first 15 'climate protection contracts'
Critics say plan protects uncompetitive sectors, is inefficient
BERLIN, Oct 15 (Reuters) -The German government has earmarked up to 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion) to support 15 industrial companies in their bid to decarbonise under its first round of "climate protection contracts", the economy ministry said on Tuesday.
As part of Germany's goal to become climate-neutral by 2045, Berlin will award 15-year subsidies to companies in sectors such as glass, paper and chemicals in return for them reducing carbon emissions in production.
The 15 projects are expected to contribute to a reduction of 17 million metric tons of emissions over the contracts' 15-year term. Germany's total CO2 emissions in 2023 stood at 674 million tons, according to the Federal Environment Agency.
Through the contracts, companies will be compensated for the extra costs of green production in industries where climate-friendly production processes cannot currently operate competitively.
Critics say the subsidies are costly, will make only a small dent in Germany's emissions, and will support energy-intensive industries that are better suited to other countries where energy prices are lower.
Berlin says they are a temporary lifeline to certain industries until the ramp-up in renewable energy lowers energy prices.
Beneficiaries of the first round of the scheme, launched in March, include BASF BASFn.DE and Suedzucker SZUG.DE, as well as German subsidiaries of Kimberly-Clark KMB.N, Saint-Gobain and Wienerberger WBSV.VI.
"Germany is the first EU member state to implement climate protection contracts, positioning us as a leader in industrial decarbonisation," Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.
The contracts include flexible funding mechanisms that adjust based on energy and CO2 price changes, the economy ministry said, adding it expected to pay out significantly less in subsidies than the maximum earmarked sum.
The government will run a second round of auctions later this year, earmarking a low double-digit billion euros amount for subsidies to be awarded in 2025, the ministry said.
Berlin had originally planned to offer up to a mid-double-digit billion euro sum in subsidies, but the programme was put at risk by last year's constitutional court ruling that stopped the government from using 60 billion euros of debt for climate protection projects.
($1 = 0.9166 euros)
Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Christian Kraemer; Editing by Mark Potter
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
