Conti calls for climate incentives to avoid ‘exodus of companies’ 

Hanover, Germany – Continental AG has voiced support for Germany’s 2045 climate goals but has called for a solid concept and government support to achieve the transformation without ‘significant discontinuity’.

In an 8 Nov statement, Conti’s executive board member for HR and sustainability Dr Ariane Reinhart called for “more momentum and a targeted concept” to achieve carbon neutrality, adding that in the absence of such strategy the self-imposed climate targets could cause “serious disruption.”

“Thousands of jobs and billions of euros in added value for industry depend on every political decision,” Reinhart added. 

“We can transform, but we cannot have any discontinuity. Creating the necessary conditions for climate protection means not only accelerating the transformation, but also preventing large-scale unemployment,” she warned. 

To avoid unemployment, Reinhart said new opportunities must be identified and employees should be supported in transition from ‘one type of work to another’.

An “economically oriented incentive system” would help to achieve carbon neutrality, according to Reinhart. 

“The message must be that carbon neutrality is also commercially worthwhile. 

“Although the goals have been defined, we are transforming an entire economy and society, and we do not have a concept for this,” she explained. 

According to Reinhart, the process of carbon neutrality will require ‘transforming’ the entire value chain within the economy “in a joint and proactive manner.”

“Companies must expand their level of action and focus on all participants in their supply chains,” she said, warning that it was important to “prevent an exodus” of companies due to rising energy costs.

“High energy prices create a particularly significant risk of an exodus, which would exacerbate the potential social impact,” Reinhart said. 

To address the issue of rising costs, Reinhard suggested measures such as lowering VAT rates for products that are manufactured in a certifiably sustainable manner.

This, she said, could help “cushion the financial burden for companies.” 

Also commenting, Dr Claudia Kemfert, head of the energy, transportation, environment department at the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin called for “a significantly faster” expansion of renewable energies and the phase-out of coal by 2030. 
 
“The incoming federal government must make clear how much greenhouse gas budget we have left and how we aim to achieve the climate targets in Germany,” she said. 

In particular, she called for ‘targeted subsidies’ to help the transition of the transportation industry, promotion of sustainability in agriculture and decarbonisation of industries.