COP28 in Dubai is also a meeting for industry representatives from all over the world whose industries are in the midst of transformation processes. What do companies like Bayer or ThyssenKrupp expect?
Dubai is the largest climate summit of all time – because, according to experts, these conferences have developed into implementation fairs: people are no longer discussing if you do climate protection, but rather How – and German industry wants to have a say. And earn money too.
Stefan Wenzel, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, emphasizes that it can meet the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement: The industry is “ready” for the 1.5 degree target, he says: “We had industry representatives at the SiemensEnergy table who are in demand around the world as experts in power grids, or ThyssenKrupp, who have been building electrolysis plants for 100 years. That was always a niche, now it is becoming a product in demand worldwide.”
Reduce emissions and develop new technologies
ThyssenKrupp operates Germany’s largest steelworks in Duisburg. Overall, steel production is responsible for seven percent of CO2 emissions in Germany. That should change by relying on hydrogen to produce iron. ThyssenKrupp also wants to help cement and fertilizer companies reduce emissions with new technologies.
The group has concluded agreements to this end in Dubai, explains CEO Miguel Ángel López Borrego. A “very strong collaboration” between politics and industry is necessary to achieve the climate goals: “This is about establishing partnerships, working with politicians to make partnerships between companies possible and to drive this forward.”
From coal-fired power plants to wind and solar power
LEAG wants to push ahead with its so-called gigawatt factory in Dubai. It is one of Germany’s largest electricity producers with lignite-fired power plants in Lusatia and plans to build wind and solar power systems on former mining areas – with around 7,000 megawatts of output. LEAG CEO Thomas Kramer is also at the summit: “I am sure that we will see many new products due to the pressure we have to shape the energy transition in the world.”
Agriculture has contributed to climate change and is suffering massively from the consequences. Chemical giant Bayer offers solutions to make plants more resilient to droughts and floods and to reduce emissions – for example with rice, the cultivation of which causes the greenhouse gas methane and uses enormous amounts of water.
Bayer chief lobbyist Matthias Berninger refers to his company’s developments for dry rice cultivation: “We are reducing methane emissions, we need 20 to 40 percent less water to produce the same amount of rice. And it has an access component because small farmers in particular rely on this innovation will be required.”
“We need security of supply”
The highly controversial move away from fossil fuels in Dubai is also posing problems for the German economy. The deputy managing director of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Holger Lösch, says that what is needed is a path with a lot more renewables. “But we also need security of supply.” And at the moment there is a situation in Germany “that I cannot see guaranteed other than with fossils – possibly for a certain longer period of time.”
The BDI is skeptical about a quick exit from the use of coal, oil and gas. But there is a sense of optimism in Dubai with a view to the opportunities for the economy in climate protection. “Of course we want to remain or become competitive again in the future, for example in batteries or solar modules,” says State Secretary Wenzel.
If more and more companies worldwide produce in a climate-neutral way, that is good for the climate and for the German economy. Companies from Germany and the EU with high requirements are at a disadvantage compared to companies from third countries that pay less attention to climate protection and can therefore produce more cost-effectively. German companies are therefore hoping for strategic partnerships between countries in Dubai for a common path to climate neutrality.
Jakob Mayr, ARD Brussels, currently Dubai, tagesschau, December 10, 2023 8:36 p.m