Professor Löschel and other experts on energy and climate protection call for a higher pricing of CO2

Professor Löschel, chairman of the governmental expert commission on monitoring the German energy transition and ZIN-member, as well as other leading experts on energy and climate protection are making a plea for a realignment of the economic framework of the energy transition in the current edition of the magazine “Handelsblatt”. According to their demands, an increased focus should be set on avoiding CO2-emissions. With the current system of taxes and levies, Germany will miss its climate protection targets. A new economic framework including an increased pricing of CO2 on the other hand could promote climate protection and the energy transition as innovative projects. Therefore, this project should be a top priority in the experts’ opinion.

The initiative is aimed at providing guidance and encouraging political decision-makers, especially in view of the soon to be negotiated coalition agreement. The authors are confident that their concerns can be implemented in the form of “guardrails” in the new government’s coalition agreement. These “guardrails” should include:

  • Reliability and guidance
  • Shaping in a revenue neutral way
  • Taring social aspects
  • Avoiding Carbon Leakage – Promoting Innovation
  • European and International integrability
  • A common German-French initiative is feasible
Continued Links:
Contribution in the magazine “Handelsblatt” from October 4 2017
Statement of the initiative requesting a higher pricing of CO2

[Copyright: Homepage of the Chair of Microeconomics with a Focus on Energy and Resource Economics, University of Muenster]