Don't shift the burden of the crisis onto the general public! Protect the environment and fight poverty—even if it means sacrificing profits!
Press Release from the Environmental Union, June 21, 2021
Peter Vescovi, head of the Environmental Union’s Mobility Forum, comments:“Some people are rubbing their eyes in disbelief: The EU has tightened its climate targets, andcorporations are outdoing one another with eco-friendly rhetoric and glossy commercials. Now, of all things, the logic of profit is supposed to save the climate and bring about prosperity
. The general public is rightly skeptical of such promises, since it is precisely this logic that is destroying our environment and
. Since Paris 2015, investments in fossil fuels have continued to rise.
Renewable energy and electric cars are a supplementary business that we’re expected to pay for—in part through the CO2 tax—while sustainable transportation systems
are being held back. A sustainable solution would be, for example, free, attractive, and eco-friendly public transit.”
Mirjam Gärtner, a member of the Federal Executive Board, adds:“The reality of CO2 pricing shows who is supposed to foot the bill: workers, their families , and the broad masses. The overall cost of living has already risen by 2.5 percent —the highest increase in 10 years. In fact, the price of electricity (euros per kWh) in Germany is already 160 percent higher than in the rest of the world. As a result of CO2 pricing, it will rise even further. A family now pays an average of 1,100€ per year. Gas prices have risen by 6 to 7 cents per litersince January 2021 and continue to climb. So, those who don’t have enough money to
to buy an expensive electric car, those who depend on a car, and those who live in older homes —are they the ones being asked to foot the bill? Not on our watch. The environmental movement would be well advised not to become an appendage of such anti-working-class policies, because otherwise it will lose its independence.”
CO2 pricing also makes no ecological sense if such a system of trading emissions with unscrupulous corporations fails to achieve any supposed “incentive effect.” They’ve turned it into a business model that’s even being speculated on in the stock market.
The AfD hypocritically poses as the advocate for the social hardships of ordinary people. Their
slogan “Keep it up,” however, gives corporations free rein to continue destroying the natural foundations of life. According to them, we would be careening unchecked toward an environmental catastrophe. But we want to prevent that!
According to a study commissioned by the Handelsblatt, high earners would “end up paying more” under the CO2 tax, while people with low incomes—who have been able to spend very little on energy up to now—would actually “come out ahead.” The “retiree in the suburbs” is cited as a case study. Assuming that revenue from the CO2 tax would be returned in full to the population on a per-capita basis—as some parties have demanded during the election campaign— then the “pensioner in the suburbs” would indeed receive more money back from the CO2 tax than she previously paid in CO2 taxes. But these are merely the stated intentions of individual parties during the election campaign. Even the Handelsblatt acknowledges that the assumption that revenue from the CO2 price would be “fully distributed” serves only as a “guideline.” While a full refund would indeed correspond to the “pure doctrine” of CO2 pricing, the revenue is already being used differently today. We do not believe these campaign promises. As the saying goes: After the elections comes the paying.
We demand and are fighting for immediate, concrete measures to preserve the foundations of our lives:
- Emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases must be radically reduced.
- A rapid and complete transition to renewable energy!
- Expand local and long-distance rail service and shift freight transport to rail!
- Stop land sealing and highway expansion!
- Free public transit!
- Transition as quickly as possible to a transportation system that does not rely on fossil fuels!
- Create new jobs, including in the renewable energy sector, the expansion of local public transit, and long-distance rail service!
- A 30-hour workweek with full pay!
- Jobs and environmental protection!
Sources:
Frankfurter Rundschau online, June 1
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/klimaschutz-bis-zu-250-euro-mehr-im-jahr-wen-ein-hoeherer-co2-preis-am-meistenbelastet/27168192.html
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/bundestagswahl-vermoegensteuer-energiewende-co2-preis-auf-diese-punkten-imgruenen-programm-schaut-die-wirtschaft-genau/27272820.html
https://www.ran.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Banking-on-Climate-Chaos-2021.pdf
