The climate crisis is not only threatening the very existence of the company, it can also become really expensive for consumers in the medium term.
Berlin - Floods, droughts and fires will become more frequent and more intense in the future as a result of the climate crisis.
This not only has existential consequences, it also affects consumer prices.
The costs for living, building, mobility and food will rise, warns Klaus Müller, head of consumer advice centers, in an interview with
Ökotest
and says:
"
The most expensive solution is to do nothing here".
Climate crisis: These forms of energy will become more expensive in the future
In the medium and long term, the prices for energy from wind and hydropower will fall. Fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal, on the other hand, will become more expensive in the long term. This affects the prices of mobility, building, housing and certain foods, according to the head of the consumer advice centers. For example, electricity prices have doubled over the past 20 years. However, the energy-intensive industry would pay almost nothing of this, and consumers, including trade and commerce, bear the costs.
“Electricity grid operators benefit from lavish interest rates on their equity.
So there are a number of costs that politicians have placed on consumers.
That needs to change.
The next federal government has to act quickly, ”says Müller.
On the other hand, it should not be the case that one can continue to behave in an ecologically miserable way with a thick wallet.
That is why we need rules that apply to everyone: "An example are standards for the maximum energy consumption of houses or the maximum speed on streets," the head of the consumer advice centers continued.
CO2 emissions: money has to go back to consumers
It is true that many things are becoming more expensive.
Because that is in the sense of the polluter pays principle - as long as it is about honest prices that include health and environmental consequences.
Nevertheless, the costs should not be completely passed on to the consumer, demands Müller.
There are basically two options for CO2 emissions: direct pricing of CO2 or certificate trading with pollution rights.
100 percent of the money consumers deposit should go back to them.
"Plug the budget holes and there must be no further industrial subsidies," said the head of the consumer advice centers.
It is also crucial how many certificates are given away.
Because that is a direct, multi-billion dollar subsidy from the industry, an auction is therefore the better option.
There are also two options for returning the money to the citizens.
On the one hand, the reduction of electricity prices by means of a lower EEG surcharge.
However, this possibility has hardly any effect and would also be exhausted in a few years, because the EEG surcharge cannot be reduced endlessly.
The second possibility would be a direct reimbursement to the citizens, often also called citizens' money, energy money or climate dividends.
A two- to three-digit amount per year could flow back to consumers, which would encourage acceptance of the energy transition, the head of the consumer center told
Ökotest
.
Consumer advice center: "Politicians have to listen to people better!"
In principle, the head of the consumer advice centers sees three different camps in society: the convinced, the skeptical and those in need. On the one hand, the people who are aware of the climate crisis and who would like a corresponding offer, such as better local public transport or better charging infrastructures for e-cars, says Müller.
On the other hand, there are the skeptical, who value personal freedoms above all and whose acceptance of the energy transition depends on the payment of energy money.
Third, the needy, who simply could not afford the higher costs.
"These households with low incomes need hardship regulations so that they can shoulder the additional costs, for example for an old oil heating system and longer commuting trips with an old diesel, or even better, opt for a climate-friendly heating system and an electric car," he said Head of the consumer advice center continues.
In any case, politics should listen to the citizens.
Other opinions should also be taken seriously. “I can only encourage politicians to speak to those who deny or reject climate protection,” advises Klaus Müller.