As at: June 2009
Climate protection: the new driving force of industry!
Those investing in climate protection are investing in their companies' future.
Environmental interests and economic interests go hand in hand in the National Climate Initiative. Climate protection offers major opportunities for individual companies and for Germany's economy as a whole.
The Climate Initiative focuses on energy efficiency and thus contributes to reducing regular energy costs. In industry and the economy there is considerable potential for making energy use more efficient and lowering energy consumption. This directly benefits industry. By lowering energy costs, companies can make production more cost-effective overall, thus improving their competitiveness. This makes jobs more secure and increases export opportunities for the whole of industry. Additionally, new technologies are supported, which can open up future export markets and of course create new jobs.
Climate protection is a job machine.
Today, German companies with technical innovations and high-quality products are already world market leaders and profit from globally rising demand for clean energy technologies. 278,000 people are employed by manufacturers and suppliers in the renewable energy sector. A further 60,000 jobs are likely to be created by 2010. Long-term prospects are also impressive: as Germany invested in the development of innovative technologies from an early stage, German companies are now leaders on the energy efficiency market. The creation of around 200,000 new jobs can be expected between 2015 and 2030 through the export of these technologies alone.
We want to become world champion in energy efficiency.
Savings of 20 to 40 percent in energy consumption in industry is possible at economically viable conditions by 2020. Electrical drives in industry alone account for around two-thirds of electricity consumption - in other words there is massive potential for savings. It is crucial to tap this potential. Germany is already at the forefront of the expansion of renewables globally, while in terms of energy efficiency we are almost level with Japan. So there is room for improvement: we want to become world champion in energy efficiency too.
Support for investments in more efficient and innovative technologies.
The National Climate Initiative is supporting German industry through several projects and programmes. The goal is to make production processes in companies more climate-friendly and more cost-effective. One example is the climate protection incentive programme for commercial refrigeration systems. There is still huge potential for savings in costs, energy and CO2 emissions for these commercial refrigeration technologies. It is possible to save around 11 billion kWh in Germany per year (equivalent to the output of two fossil-fuelled thermal plants) with the technologies available on the market alone. The Environmental Innovation Programme also provides additional funding for climate-friendly new technologies.
Well-informed and motivated stakeholders can also contribute to climate protection.
There is particularly high potential for climate protection and savings in energy costs in small and medium-sized enterprises, industry, trade and commerce and services. Tapping this potential brings major economic advantages for individual companies - if the level of information, qualification and motivation is right.
