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PRESS RELEASE FROM THE “ALLIANCE FOR THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRY” Study: A New Era Is Also Needed in Regional Transformation

Leading Representatives of the “Alliance for the Future of Industry” Call for a New Era in Economic Development

IG Metall, Mainforum, Gebäude, Fahnen
Foto: IG Metall

11 May 2023 11 May 2023

Berlin — Leading representatives of the “Alliance for the Future of Industry” have called for a new era in economic development. During a conference held Thursday in Berlin, the study “Transformation Strategies for Regions Particularly Affected” by IW Consult, the University of Kassel, and the University of Tübingen was presented. The authors conclude that current regional development funding cannot “make a systematic contribution to ensuring the transformation toward climate neutrality and digitalization that everyone desires.”

Wolfgang Lemb, executive board member of IG Metall, stated: “Our country is undergoing a simultaneous digital, mobility, and energy policy transformation—one that is necessary, especially in light of climate policy challenges, and must be shaped in a way that preserves Germany as a strong industrial hub. How this transformation succeeds will be decided in very concrete terms in specific locations and regions over the next few years. That is where we must provide support.”

Tanja Gönner, Chief Executive of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), emphasized: “The transformation is at a critical turning point. To ensure the transformation’s success, companies must massively scale up innovation and investment. To achieve this, favorable framework conditions are essential: a clean, reliable, and affordable energy supply, faster planning and permitting processes, and less regulatory burden.”

The new study concludes that a more nuanced and proactive regional policy could give a new boost to innovation and technology, infrastructure, and labor market policies in particular, and promote regional cooperation. This is not about more funding, but about better funding strategies.

What is needed is an approach better tailored to the problems at hand, one that should, for example, also build on regional networks. IG Metall and the BDI offered to consult with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in the “Alliance for the Future of Industry” in the near future regarding the urgently needed paradigm shift in regional economic development and to develop joint recommendations.

Further information on the alliance and the study

 

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