Key-note Speech
Green Investments: Challenges and Opportunities

The commitment to climate neutrality in 2050 also marks a paradigm shift in German and European climate policy. We now know that we need direct electrification as well as climate-neutral hydrogen and synthetic fuels - and we need them on ambitious timelines. We are at the beginning of a comprehensive transformation of industry. New value chains will emerge, for example to produce green hydrogen, transport it and use it in various applications in industry or mobility. In the long term, we will import renewable instead of fossil energy sources. Global trade in climate-neutral energy sources and products will lead to a shift in value chains and countries in which renewable electricity is particularly cheap and available for many hours a year will have comparative advantages. Regions with a high level of technological competence - such as Germany and Europe - will be able to benefit from the transformation by supplying key components for building the new value chains all over the world: for example, electrolysers, logistics solutions, vehicles and fuel cells.

The EU and Germany have put political initiatives on the table, including the Green Deal, the climate package and the hydrogen strategies, in order to achieve climate neutrality in 2050 while simultaneously taking a large slice of the pie in the upcoming reorganisation of global value creation. The success of these efforts now depends crucially on their implementation. The EU Commission expects an investment requirement of 2.6 trillion euros by 2030. This must essentially involve the mobilisation of private capital for the transformation. Public funds can provide targeted support, for example by promoting the expansion of infrastructure, research and investment in the training of tomorrow's skilled workers. However, the key role will be played by the framework conditions that shape the investment environment for companies along the value chains.

Prof. Dr. Veronika Grimm
Holder of the Chair of Economics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Member of the Sachverständigenrats zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung ...more