On Thursday 10 August, the European Commission announced that it had authorised a German aid scheme worth €6.5 billion to provide partial compensation to energy-intensive companies exposed to international competition.
With this scheme, Germany wants to “prevent carbon leakage”, i.e. the relocation of these large companies that could be caused by the rise in fuel prices as a result of the German EU Emissions Trading Scheme (the ‘German ETS for fuels’) to countries with less stringent environmental rules.
The scheme will cover the costs incurred between 2021 and 2030.
The compensation will be paid to eligible companies in the form of a partial refund of the additional costs incurred during the previous year. Compensation ranges from 65% to 95% of costs, depending on the carbon intensity of the beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries of the aid must invest at least 50% of the amount of the aid until 2025 and at least 80% of the amount of the aid from 2025 onwards either in measures set out in their ‘energy management system’ or in decarbonising their production processes. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)