· Especially during the Corona crisis, the question about how we can reconcile economic and ecological objectives is becoming ever more important. Climate change, after all, as a predominantly long-term challenge, is in competition with the short-term goal of economic revival.
· The common G7 evaluation of climate performance – primarily based on CO2 emissions – falls short of the mark. Rather, a new benchmark should be applied which measures both emissions and economic development simultaneously.
· Until industrial processes can be made CO2-neutral in a cost-efficient way, reductions in emissions owing to declining industrial production in the G7 states will be to the detriment of climate protection. Given that ecological standards in the G7 states are high, industrial goods should also continue to be produced in these countries on a large scale.
· Changes to the electricity mix of the G7 states highlight both the effective and efficient steering effect of CO2 prices. For this reason, it is important to further strengthen CO2 pricing as a guiding tool for the market economy.