TotalEnergies, Siemens urge EU to scrap corporate climate law to boost competitiveness
Energy major TotalEnergies and industrial giant Siemens have urged European governments to abolish one of the European Union’s core corporate sustainability laws, arguing that it hurts competitiveness.
The letter, signed by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne and Siemens CEO Roland Busch on behalf of 46 major European companies, was sent to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on October 6, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
It called for the repeal of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), saying such a move would send “a clear and symbolic signal” that Europe is serious about restoring its global competitiveness.
The directive, adopted last year, requires companies to address human rights and environmental issues across their supply chains or face fines of up to 5% of global turnover. It is one of the most controversial elements of the EU’s green agenda and has drawn resistance from several governments and corporations.
“Improving Europe’s ability to compete globally requires less excessive regulation across all sectors,” Siemens said, adding that cutting red tape would be a “meaningful step” to ease bureaucratic burdens.
The letter also urged the EU to halt plans to reduce free pollution permits next year and to reform competition rules to allow more mergers to be assessed within a global rather than regional context.
Both France and Germany, along with other nations and major firms such as Exxon Mobil, have already pushed Brussels to soften the CSDDD. But Siemens and TotalEnergies’ call to abolish the law entirely goes beyond current discussions among EU policymakers, who are still negotiating ways to simplify or scale back the legislation.
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