Climate change: green or dirty steel?

The “sparkling wine or seltzer question”

Created: 01/25/2022, 10:19 am

By: Leonie Zimmermann, Jens Kiffmeier

Climate change should be stopped.

For this, the steel industry must go green.

This is impossible without state aid, warns Stephan Weil.

It should be judged by Habeck.

Hanover – From the former air polluter to the green model industry: Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil* (SPD) still sees a future for the German steel industry.

For the conversion of the key industry to a green production method, however, the state father called for a strong commitment from the federal government.

The fundamental change is only possible if "the state actively supports the company," warned Weil in an exclusive interview with kreiszeitung.de*.

Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck* (Greens) is now required to present a “coherent financing concept” for the many climate protection projects.

Climate protection: what to do?

Stephan Weil wants to convert the steel industry with hydrogen

Weil was also reacting to the objectives of the new federal government.

The traffic light coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD) has made climate protection the focus of the coalition agreement.

The week before last, Habeck presented an immediate program that was decided in the cabinet in April and whose measures should then take effect from 2023.

Among other things, the climate protection minister pleads for an enormous expansion of wind power and a nationwide solar roof obligation*.

Calls for a restructuring of the steel industry: Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD).

© Moritz Frankenberg/dpa

According to Weil, the desired climate protection means an enormous challenge and burden for most sectors of the German economy.

"For many, the question now is sparkling wine or seltzer," said the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony.

He also cited the steel industry as an example, which is one of the largest CO₂ emitters in Germany and which is well represented in Lower Saxony with Salzgitter AG.

Stephan Weil (SPD): The climate protection measures are paying off – prices for electricity and gas will fall in the long term

“Those responsible know how to make the steel industry more sustainable and that is also technically possible: by switching to green hydrogen*,” Weil clarified.

However, that would cost "an awful lot of money".

Nevertheless, he called the change without alternative.

This not only applies for economic reasons, but also for climate policy reasons.

"If we stopped producing steel in Germany ourselves, it would happen elsewhere - and this steel would then certainly be produced under much worse conditions than here," argued the SPD state chairman.

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From Weil's point of view, the national effort will pay off in the long term.

The Prime Minister admitted that high prices for gas and electricity are currently burdening many households* and must be compensated.

But in the end, society will benefit enormously from the switch to renewable energy.

On the one hand, this would not only preserve the basis of life, but on the other hand, the economy would also be boosted by an innovation boost.

"That means: In my opinion, in the long term we will not only live better, but also more cheaply than we are doing now," Weil clarified.

Until then, however, he expects a “difficult transition period”, says Weil, which could certainly last ten to twenty years.

* kreiszeitung.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.