FRANKFURT (Reuters), Germany is supporting companies who are struggling to deal with increased energy costs, Robert Habeck said Tuesday at an industry conference.

He said that this would be in addition to payments to offset rising costs to prevent carbon emissions. Habeck stated that Germany’s only hope of preserving key industries was to build decarbonised supply chain.

There should never be a shortage of government support. However, we do not want to provide too much support. Habeck stated that companies who are considering making the change should be supported, and paid for any losses on the marketplace.

Habeck stated that carbon contracts for differences, which compensate companies for increased costs due to decarbonized production, will account for at least a third of a billion euros.

Habeck stated that once production, which may include chemicals, steel, and cement, has attained a level of competitiveness, some cost will be returned to the state.

There will come a time when CO2 prices rise, and certificate trading will increase. As a consequence, production will decrease,” he stated.