German energy industry demands government find budget fix

Huge outlay: An employee checks a bolt component fitting at a gas turbine factory in Berlin. Germany’s ambition to cut its carbon emissions by two-thirds from 1990 levels by the end of the decade needs investments of roughly US$659bil. — Bloomberg

BERLIN: Energy industry representatives are warning that green investments in Germany could grind to a halt unless the country resolves its budget crisis quickly.

“If we don’t have countermeasures now, we will experience a full stop,” Kerstin Andreae, the head of the energy group BDEW, said. “Investments are starting to devalue.”