Consumer advocates demand 139 euros climate money for everyone
According to the traffic light coalition, the climate money is intended to ensure a social balance in CO2 pricing. However, it has not yet been paid out. Nevertheless, the federal government believes that citizens will be indirectly relieved. Consumer advocates disagree and are calling for a three-figure sum to be paid retroactively to every German citizen.
In the discussion about climate money, consumer advocates believe that the state is already clearly in debt to its citizens. In the past three years, the state has collected an additional 11.4 billion euros through CO2 pricing, ARD-Hauptstadtstudio reported, citing calculations by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV). However, as the majority of the costs for the CO2 price are already borne by consumers, they should also receive a corresponding amount of money back - 139 euros per head, the association demanded.
The government's total revenue from the CO2 price was more than twice as high as the direct relief. "I would like to see that in consumers' accounts," VZBV energy expert Thomas Engelke told ARD. For a family of four, that would be 556 euros.
The carbon pricing was introduced in January 2021 by the then grand coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD and aims to make the consumption of fossil fuels less attractive in the fight against climate change and to encourage a switch to more climate-friendly alternatives. This will result in higher costs for consumers, for example for petrol and diesel.
E-car subsidies instead of climate money
However, it was only the "traffic light" coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP that proposed a climate money to compensate for this in its coalition agreement. However, there is still no date for its introduction. In view of the increasing burden on citizens as a result of the agreement on CO2 pricing in the federal government's budget compromise, calls for the climate money are now growing louder again.
With regard to the VZBV's calculations, the Federal Ministry of Economics pointed out, according to ARD-Hauptstadtstudio, that the additional revenue from the CO2 price had flowed into the climate and transformation fund and had therefore also reached the citizens: for example through funding programs for building renovation and heating replacement, energy advice or e-car funding.
This has provided targeted support for consumers. In addition, the CO2 price has not been increased this year as planned in order to relieve the burden on people.
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The Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband, a consumer advocacy group, argues that the German government owes its citizens a significant sum due to the CO2 pricing system, as most of the costs are already shouldered by consumers. They demand a retroactive payment of 139 euros per head, totaling 556 euros for a family of four. The government, through the Traffic Light Coalition led by Robert Habeck, has not yet distributed the climate money, despite collecting an additional 11.4 billion euros through CO2 pricing over the past three years.
Source: www.ntv.de
