EU Climate Policy: An Attack on its Industrial Foundation

Markus Kamieth, CEO of German chemical giant BASF, didn’t mince words during his recent quarterly earnings call: the European Union’s CO2 emissions trading system (EU ETS 2) is nothing short of an “attack on the industrial foundations of Europe.” Finally, a captain of industry has the guts to call out the madness that’s driving Germany’s chemical sector—and by extension, its economy—straight into the abyss.

For years, this powerhouse industry has been battered by boneheaded political decisions: the hasty decoupling from cheap Russian energy and a cascade of overzealous climate policies that have jacked up electricity prices to unsustainable levels. The result? Factories shuttering, jobs vanishing, and production fleeing to saner shores abroad. It’s economic suicide, wrapped in green virtue-signaling.

Kamieth’s outrage is backed by cold, hard numbers. Starting in 2027, BASF’s European operations could be saddled with an extra billion euros in annual costs if the EU doesn’t pull its head out of the sand. And here’s the kicker: this punitive tax hits only Europe, while competitors in Asia and America laugh all the way to the bank.

No wonder BASF’s third-quarter 2025 results are a horror show—sales down 3%, pre-tax profits plummeting 5%. In response, the company has already axed 1,400 jobs, with its flagship Ludwigshafen plant, home to 33,000 workers, teetering on the edge of oblivion. This isn’t just a corporate hiccup; it’s a symptom of a rotting core.

While the U.S. economy roars ahead with nearly 4% growth, and China and India surge forward, Germany’s chemical titans are left gasping for air, courtesy of Berlin and Brussels’ myopic meddling.

Kamieth isn’t alone in his rebellion. Evonik’s CEO, Christian Kullmann, recently branded the ETS “economic madness” and demanded its overhaul—or outright scrapping. These aren’t fringe voices; they’re the stewards of industries that once defined German prowess. Yet, the EU barrels on, expanding its emissions trading scheme to rake in a staggering €100 billion annually in the coming years—tripling the current haul.

Add in CO2 taxes and climate levies, and consumers get hammered too, footing the bill for this green delusion. The macroeconomic fallout is catastrophic: experts estimate that 4-5% of GDP is squandered on unproductive energy pursuits, translating to a yearly hemorrhage of €150-200 billion in productive capital for Germany alone.

That’s not investment in the future; it’s flushing prosperity down the drain to chase unattainable eco-utopias.

And let’s not forget the EU’s so-called “remedy”—the Climate Social Fund, a paltry €10 billion annual handout to cushion households and small businesses from the “green transformation.” What a joke! Brussels knows full well the devastation it’s unleashing, yet it clings to this deindustrialization dogma like a cultist to scripture. They’re aware of the pain, but too ideologically blinded to pivot.

This isn’t policy; it’s premeditated sabotage, prioritizing feel-good gestures over factories, jobs, and economic sovereignty.

But the hypocrisy reaches nauseating heights when you peel back the curtain on Europe’s energy dealings. A recent Reuters report, spotlighted by Hungarian politician Balázs Hidvéghi, exposes the double-dealing at play. While the EU preaches sanctions against Russia and moral superiority in supporting Ukraine, several member states are quietly gorging on Russian natural gas.

France up 40%, the Netherlands a whopping 72%, Romania 57%, Croatia 55%, and Portugal an obscene 167%.

These are the very nations howling loudest for more sanctions, yet they’ve ramped up imports like addicts in denial. As Hidvéghi aptly put it, “Hypocrisy is the norm.” Hungary and Slovakia get crucified for their energy ties to Moscow, but the Brussels darlings escape unscathed.

“Words are principles, actions are business,” he sneered—and he’s spot on.

The numbers don’t lie: since the war’s onset, Europe has funneled €31 billion more to Russia than to Kiev’s aid efforts. So much for solidarity; it’s all a facade, with sanctimonious elites enriching their “enemy” while gutting their own industries. This duplicity isn’t just embarrassing—it’s treacherous, undermining the very sanctions regime they champion.

Europe’s leaders are fiddling while Rome burns, or rather, while Ludwigshafen rusts. The EU’s climate crusade isn’t saving the planet; it’s accelerating deindustrialization, eroding competitiveness, and betraying workers. Kamieth’s warning should be a wake-up call: scrap the madness, reform the ETS, and prioritize real growth over green fantasies. Otherwise, the industrial foundation that built modern Europe will crumble into irrelevance, leaving a continent of has-beens wondering where it all went wrong. The time for half-measures is over—before it’s too late.