German companies including ThyssenKrupp, Salzgitter, Bayer, Covestro, E.ON, HeidelbergCement, Puma, Allianz and Deutsche Telekom have called for coronavirus-related state aid to be tied to climate action, daily Handelsblatt reported.
"We appeal to the federal government to closely link economic policy measures to overcome both the climate crisis and the coronavirus crisis," more than 60 companies said in letter, ahead of the Petersberg climate dialogue starting on Monday.The companies are concerned that environmental issues will be put on the backburner during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic highlights the vulnerability of our globalized economic system to threats that are not limited to regions or industries," the appeal says."Climate change is a comparable challenge."