Markus Steilemann is CEO of the plastics manufacturer Covestro and President of the Chemical Association. He believes that a quick abandonment of climate-damaging power plants is unrealistic. An opinion with which he is not alone in German industry.
Markus Steilemann uses the rhetorically strained beer mat. If he were to scribble a calculation on this coaster, he would come to the conclusion that in Germany “there will not be enough to phase out coal in 2030,” says the CEO of plastics manufacturer Covestro. Steilemann spoke on Thursday at the Leverkusen headquarters of the Dax group, presenting a mixed annual balance sheet for the company with a good 17,000 employees. But the 53-year-old’s word also carries weight when it comes to energy issues, after all, Covestro is a large consumer of electricity and gas, and Steilemann is President of the Association of the Chemical Industry (VCI).