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TotalEnergies and Siemens ask EU to abolish climate laws, shows letter

A letter obtained by shows that TotalEnergies, Siemens and 46 other European companies have written to European governments urging them to repeal one of the EU’s most prominent corporate sustainability laws to increase the continent’s competitiveness. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne, and his Siemens AG counterpart Roland Busch, wrote the letter on behalf of 46 European firms to French President Emmanuel Macron as well as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The letter from October 6 stated that removing the rules would "send a clear and symbolic message to European and International companies that governments and the Commission really are committed to restoring competitiveness in Europe." Siemens and Total didn't immediately respond to comments.

Last year, the European Union adopted a corporate sustainability due diligence Directive that requires companies to address human rights and environment issues in their supply chains or face a fine of 5% of their global turnover. After a backlash from Germany, France, the United States, Qatar and Exxon Mobil, Brussels is now negotiating to simplify the rules. Siemens and Total want to completely scrap the rules, which is more than what EU legislators and countries are already negotiating to do.

(source: Reuters)