German Companies Call for Clean Energy

Representatives of German companies met with Raquel Buenrostro, Mexico’s Minister of Economy, to talk about their need to see more electricity generated from renewable energy sources in order to meet international clean power requirements. 

In December 2022, members of the Mexican-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAMEXA) met with Minister Buenrostro, Alejandro Encinas, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Luis Abel Romero, Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce and Wolfgang Dold, the German Ambassador to Mexico. During the meeting, CAMEXA underscored the need for a public or private provider of clean energy in Mexico that would be able to meet the energy requirements of German companies. “It does not matter which company supplies the energy, it could well be a green branch of CFE,” CAMEXA associates commented during the meeting.

Johannes Hauser, Director, CAMEXA, had two previous meetings with Minister Buenrostro and Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. Here, the trade partners took the opportunity to discuss Mexico’s potential as well as their concerns. The CAMEXA members highlighted the importance of making global supply chains more resilient as well as supporting the energy transition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

CAMEXA offers business support services and serves as a representative of German companies in Mexico. It has a network of over 750 affiliated companies, both from Mexico and Germany, including BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Volkswagen, Bosch, Siemens, Continental and Bayer, among others. 

German investments in Mexico fell 65 percent during 1H22 compared to the same period in 2021. Moreover, the country’s investments plummeted 79 percent since 2019 following the energy reforms carried out by the government of President López Obrador. Until 1H22, the Ministry of Economy reported US$719 million in German investments. In 1H21, investments equaled US$2.07 billion, whereas a US$1.16 billion figure was registered in 2020. In 2019, investments reached US$3.49 billion, a historical record.

In 2022, Germany’s government announced its plan to reach 80 percent of clean energy production by 2030. This decision was partly motivated by the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia served as Germany’s main energy supplier by providing more than half of its natural gas and coal supplies and a third of its oil.