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Climate Politics

Germany’s €23 Billion Green Experiment to Save Its Industrial Economy

The program resembles a strategy governments around the world have used to roll out wind and solar, but it covers earlier stage technologies at a scale not seen before.

An art installation inside the former Voelklingen ironworks in Germany.

Photographer: Ben Kilb/Bloomberg
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Europe’s largest economy is running a €23 billion ($24.9 billion) experiment to reach net zero by 2045 without destroying its energy-intensive industrial base.

The government of Olaf Scholz announced earlier this month so-called “climate protection contracts” to help companies in sectors like steel, cement and glass cover additional expenses incurred in using cleaner technologies, compared with conventional processes. Under the program, applicants present proposals for the amount of support needed, with the bids offering the highest CO2 reductions for lowest price receiving funding.