In your article on the debate over reducing European greenhouse gas emissions, EU energy commissioner Günther Oettinger is right to insist: "Look at our deficit – we need growth, and we need more industry" (EU energy chief dashes hope of 30% cut in greenhouse emissions, 11 February).
In the past, Oettinger was president of the German state Baden-Württemberg, one of the wealthiest regions of Europe with a population the size of Belgium's. It has a highly competitive industrial base, home to businesses like Mercedes and Bosch that are exploring how they might move into a world of electric cars. It is also one of the regions with the highest levels of energy efficiency and the most innovative climate policy, with networks of businesses sharing information on how to save energy costs.
So it's unfortunate Oettinger seems pessimistic about the prospects of other regions emulating the Baden-Württemberg experience. "If we go alone to 30%, you will only have a faster process of de-industrialisation in Europe," he's quoted as saying, citing the steel industry as a likely casualty.
Yes, there will be a need for measures to help particularly energy-intensive industries cope with the transition to a low-carbon economy. Yet European industry in general is not threatened by climate policy, but rather – as the commission has stressed – by slow growth and poor productivity and innovation.
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics, stated in a recent public lecture: "Climate change is an opportunity. It isn't necessarily a burden." And he warned: "This way of thinking – of focusing on the costs and not the opportunities – has contributed to getting us bogged down."
The true risk to jobs in European heavy industries is not high carbon prices or higher emissions targets, but the collapse of European demand in construction. Ironically, the best way to increase growth and jobs in these markets is to incentivise investment in large-scale, low-carbon infrastructure, which is a major user of steel, cement, aluminium and chemicals. We need to appreciate that the development of a low-carbon economy is the only way Europe will stay competitive.
Oettinger is right, though, when he points to the tightening of the oil market: "Some countries will need more oil. But Europe should be reducing the use of oil" (Report, 11 February). Climate policy can do so by creating opportunities for massive investment: to expand the supply of renewables; build the power grids of the future; develop the robotics and nanotechnology required for energy-efficient construction materials; facilitate the shift from coal to gas; and prepare for the far-reaching changes that will characterise this century.
The 30% target is a growth target because it helps to bring about these investments. The government of Baden-Württemberg focuses on opportunities: recently it announced plans to foster use of renewable energy, and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2020. This is a powerful lesson that should be applied to all Europe.
