Siemens calls for “accelerated” coal exit and European carbon price

Germany’s largest industrial company Siemens has sent an unofficial working paper to members of the Green Party in which it calls for “an accelerated end of coal-fired power production” coupled with a European carbon floor price. In the four-page document seen by the Clean Energy Wire and sent during ongoing talks to form a new government coalition, the company, which operates natural gas and wind power businesses, says Germany’s next government ought to make a coal exit a “climate policy priority” and gauge the possibility of shutting down the country’s most carbon-intense power plants earlier than planned. On the European level, Germany should strive to establish a common CO2 minimum price and to end “subsidies and capacity payments” for polluting power plants. Siemens also says Germany’s future transport policy should be focussed on decarbonisation and electrification.

Spiegel Online first reported on this topic in an article in German here.

See the CLEW factsheet When will Germany finally ditch coal? for background.