Environmental industry still a key economic factor | Umweltbundesamt

Ms Krautzberger continued to say: "Although Germany is still in a good position – not least of all because its companies had to deal with high environmental policy standards from early on – there is a risk of losing this standing if we simply implement the European minimum standards. We need high standards in environmental law to drive innovation. We must promote such development in the EU and in Germany."

Production volume in the environmental protection sector has risen slightly from 81.6 billion euros in 2013 to over 83 billion euros in 2015, or six per cent of total industrial goods production. The 40% share of potential environmental protection goods in overall production volume represents by far the largest environmental area. This includes wind turbines and solar energy systems. Ms Krautzberger said: "The Climate Change Conference World in Bonn clearly showed once again that we must be resolute in our fight against climate change. The ongoing efforts around the world will also result in the growth of the global market for environmental goods and mitigation technology. We must take advantage of the economic opportunities that this brings."

Both exports and imports determine international competitiveness. After all, the products made by German companies compete on the domestic market with foreign products. Development in the solar cell market in recent years has made this very apparent. In the wind energy sector, however, German companies succeeded in gaining shares on foreign markets. German industry is traditionally very competitive in measurement and control engineering for environmental protection as well as in solid and liquid waste management technologies.

The German Environment Agency updates and publishes information on developments and competitiveness in the environmental industry in its biennial Report on the Environmental Economy.