Berlin – As coalition negotiations begin, IG Metall and the German Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) are calling on the incoming federal government to take immediate action to resolutely advance the energy and mobility transition. The union and the environmental organization presented a joint position paper outlining corresponding measures today in Berlin. To meet the Paris climate goals while ensuring good and secure jobs in the industry of tomorrow, action must be taken on three key fronts: First, infrastructure must be transformed and expanded, with a new regulatory framework to reduce traffic; second, a socially just restructuring of the mobility industries is needed; and third, renewable energy must be expanded. To actively shape this transition, secure financing in the form of transformation funds is needed—and not just for structurally weak regions. Furthermore, the government must set the right guidelines, with binding environmental and employment policy criteria for state subsidies and equitable financing. The exploratory talks to date remain too vague on this point.
Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, emphasized the urgency of these demands: “We are in the midst of transforming our industries. We need significant investment now, a future-proof restructuring of business models, and the expansion of renewable energy. The incoming federal government can preach modernization—but it must quickly follow up these announcements with action. This is essential for Germany to remain an industrial nation in the future. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country depend on it. Metalworkers across the country will take to the streets on October 29 to further emphasize this message.”
Olaf Bandt, Chair of BUND: “The climate-just transformation of the mobility industries must be significantly accelerated. To achieve this, new legal provisions must be enshrined in the coalition agreement, moving away from passenger car traffic. The abolition of the immense subsidies that are harmful to the climate and the environment is also long overdue. In a sustainable mobility policy, it is the interests of workers—not the profits of automakers—that matter. Furthermore, everyone must have access to attractive, climate-friendly, and affordable mobility.”
BUND and IG Metall have successfully expanded their collaboration in recent years. At both the federal and regional levels, the industrial union and the environmental organization cooperate on various issues, thereby underscoring their conviction that climate and environmental protection and jobs must always be considered together.
Position Paper on the Mobility Transition by BUND and IG Metall
