Associations insist on a stop to CO2 levies for companies

Business associations from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are calling for a fundamental reorientation of German energy policy in light of rising energy prices. In addition to short-term measures, the employers' and business associations in Saxony-Anhalt (AWSA), the Saxon Business Association (VSW) and the Thuringian Business Association (VWT) have announced that structural relief is necessary.

Energy price spiral

Businesses and consumers are suffering from an "ever-increasing price spiral for fuels and combustibles". This is not only due to international factors, but also the result of national decisions that make energy more expensive.

The associations are in favor of suspending the national CO2 levy for transport, buildings and smaller businesses. "The state must create structural solutions," they said. The CO2 surcharge for truck tolls should also be stopped until the second European Emissions Trading System (ETS 2) is introduced.

"Our companies need predictable, reliable and, above all, tangible relief. This is the only way to make investments possible again and get growth going again," said AWSA President Marco Langhof.

Criticism of the national CO2 system

At the same time, the associations emphasize the importance of the existing European emissions trading system as a key climate protection instrument. However, they are critical of the national CO2 targets. "The national CO2 pricing system is economically inefficient and one-sided," said VSW President Jörg Brückner. It lacks ecological accuracy and market-based logic.

The associations also criticized the CO2 component of the truck toll, which has been in force since the end of 2023. This has significantly increased the costs of road freight transport.

The associations also pointed to geopolitical tensions, for example in the Middle East, which have increased price pressure. At the beginning of March, fuel prices in Germany were over two euros per liter and thus above the level of many other industrialized countries.

Only with a consistent and competitive energy policy can "climate protection, economic strength and social stability be reconciled in the long term," emphasized VWT President Hartmut Koch.