The federal government wants to promote the export of green technologies with new guidelines for its export credit insurance. Technologies that are harmful to the climate, on the other hand, should no longer be secured.
In order to align state export promotion more closely with climate protection, the green-led Federal Ministry of Economics is planning to reorganize the export credit protection through Euler Hermes AG, also known as Hermes Cover. The plans have already been agreed within the federal government, and the ministry said that opinions should now be obtained from business associations and trade unions by the end of August.
In 2022, the federal government had secured deliveries and services amounting to 14.9 billion euros against risks with export credit guarantees – the so-called Hermes Cover.
No hedging more harmful to the climate exports
Exports of climate-damaging technologies should no longer be promoted. These include coal or oil production projects. Gas projects should only be secured if this serves national security or security of supply in crisis situations. However, there should be an exception rule until the end of 2025 for projects to develop new gas deposits.
Financing conditions should improve for green technologies. The aim is that the volume of export credit insurance is diverted in the direction of green technologies. The new guidelines concern the energy, industry and transport sectors. They should become binding in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The federal government bears the export risk
With Hermes Cover, German companies can protect their export business against political and economic risks. The assumption of an export credit guarantee by the federal government transfers the risk of non-payment to a large extent to the Federal Republic. For this, the companies pay a premium according to the risk to be hedged. In the event of damage, the federal government compensates them in the amount of the covered claim.
According to the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, export credit guarantees from the federal government are generally available to all export companies and export-financing banks based in Germany – regardless of the size of the company or the amount of the order to be covered. The eligibility for funding and whether a transaction is risk-adequate, i.e. a damage-free course is realistic, are decisive.
Deliveries and services that serve, among other things, to secure and create jobs in Germany and to open up new sales markets are deemed to be eligible for funding. The federal government considers transactions by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to be particularly worthy of support.