EU climate policy: Evonik CEO calls for reform of the CO₂ tax

The planned tightening of emissions trading in the EU is meeting with strong resistance from the business community. The acquisition of pollution permits, including for the emission of climate-damaging CO₂, places too heavy a burden on companies, says Christian Kullmann (56), CEO of the Essen-based chemical company Evonik, to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung." Many other managers from Europe's industry have also criticized this. "We have the world's strictest CO₂ fee regime, but the climate knows no borders. I therefore believe it is completely wrong to severely disadvantage an industry with great technology that is at the forefront of the world with additional fees. We live from exports in Germany , including the chemical industry."