Former Saxony‑Anhalt premier Reiner Haseloff (CDU) has called for a relaxation of Germany’s climate targets. “The ambitious goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions no longer fits the difficult overall situation in which we are at war” he told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Thursday edition).
Haseloff warned that insolvencies were a growing concern, noting that several automotive suppliers in Saxony‑Anhalt have gone bankrupt. “If the current energy‑transition philosophy is kept, it will become absolutely disastrous” he said. “The economy is essential”.
Talking about the chemical industry, he added, “Major players such as BASF can relocate their plants to China where regulations are less stringent. A medium‑sized firm in Saxony‑Anhalt cannot simply move away. If the price of CO₂ certificates rises, such an operation dies. Chemistry can’t be done without CO₂”.
He then outlined ways the sector could become greener: electrifying processes, substituting natural gas with green hydrogen, using biomass, and either re‑capturing the emitted CO₂ to use as a feedstock (CCU) or storing it underground (CCS). “Many of these solutions are still comparatively expensive, so the EU wants to accelerate the market through a CO₂‑emission trading scheme” Haseloff explained.
Criticising German policy, he argued that processes have become more complex and slower because domestic sovereignty has been delegated to Brussels. “For automotive and chemicals the federal government cannot decide without the EU. If we stay with combustion engines, the German automotive industry will be hurt” he said, noting that the public feels the impact.
Given Germany’s precarious economic situation, Haseloff called for a faster counter‑measure by the government. “Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (CDU) is doing something, but these tiny steps at this slow pace-millimetre‑by‑millimetre progress-are not enough to resolve the crisis” he said. “Companies need certainty about how CO₂‑certificate prices will develop; otherwise they will not invest”.
Under the Paris Agreement, 195 countries have pledged to achieve a balance between anthropogenic greenhouse‑gas emissions and their removal from the atmosphere in the second half of this century. In its 2021 climate decision, the Federal Constitutional Court interpreted Article 20a of the German constitution as imposing a duty to attain climate neutrality. Accordingly, Germany must set a specific CO₂‑limit for the period leading up to a defined target date, rather than merely deciding on an exit date.