BERLIN (Reuters) – German companies see the energy transition bringing more risks than opportunities for their competitiveness, the DIHK Chambers of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday.
For half of the more than 3,500 companies surveyed by the DIHK, the transition towards renewable energies and away from Russian gas will have a very negative or negative impact on their business and for only 13% a very positive or positive impact.
The DIHK Energy Transition Barometer 2023 shows that on a scale of minus 100 (“very negative”) to plus 100 (“very positive”), the barometer value is -27, its worst value since the launch of the survey in 2012.
“The confidence of German business in energy policy has currently sunk to a low point,” said DIHK Deputy Managing Director Achim Dercks on Tuesday, at the presentation of the barometer. “Worries about their own competitiveness have never been greater.”
In energy-intensive sectors, three out of four companies see themselves negatively or very negatively affected by the energy transition, the survey showed. “In view of the great importance of industry for Germany as a business location, these figures are alarming,” said Dercks.
Many German companies are strongly concerned about an inadequate energy supply, even in the medium and long term, he said.
“This is an overall worrying development that we should all take very seriously,” Dercks added.
Although the majority of the companies want to stay in Germany despite the challenges, the percentage of companies considering leaving or leaving the country is on the rise. Almost one-third of industrial companies are planning to relocate production abroad or to reduce their production domestically, doubling the 16% of last year.
“Politicians must take countermeasures here as quickly as possible,” Dercks said.
(Reporting by Maria Martinez and Christian Kraemer; Editing by Sandra Maler)
