'Decision is made' | flagship German solar factory set to close amid pleas for US-style support for green industry - Recharge
'Decision is made' | flagship German solar factory set to close amid pleas for US-style support for green industry | Recharge
European solar manufacturer Meyer Burger is seeking shareholder approval to close a flagship module factory in Freiberg, Germany, while also seeking backing for a rights issue needed to complete the construction of new facilities in the United States.
The Swiss group had already warned in January that it would go ahead with the German closure unless “sufficient measures” were taken to allow European manufacturers to cope with what it sees as unfair Chinese competition.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”