Schäuble warns green policies are harming German economy Germany's powerful finance minister said on Tuesday that Berlin may have gone too far in its attempts to protect the environment, saying his government must now "rebalance" its policies to ensure environmental regulations do not cost jobs. Wolfgang Schäuble took issue with claims that the "green economy" will be a major driver of employment, saying Berlin's decision two years ago to shutter its nuclear power plants and emphasise renewables needed to be re-examined. "We did it too good and now we have to correct because otherwise we have an increasing of energy costs which will harm jobs in Germany in a serious way in the medium term," Mr Schäuble said at a forum in Brussels, where he was attending a regular meeting of EU finance ministers. Therefore, we have to rebalance. Mr Schäuble's remarks come amid rising concerns in European industry that the EU is losing competitiveness internationally because of its rising energy costs, particularly in comparison to the US, where exploitation of shale gas has been hailed as a source of inexpensive energy that could help reindustrialise the US economy. Last week, the European Commission unveiled a new energy strategy for 2030 that disappointed environmentalists because it lacked binding national targets on how much power EU countries would have to generate from renewable sources. Critics charged Brussels with putting economic growth ahead of climate change concerns; the EU has long been the strongest advocate internationally for tough environmental standards and a retreat by Europe on the issue could have major implications for the global debate. Mr Schäuble's cooling on renewables comes despite the fact Germany was the strongest voice calling for binding targets for such energy sources ahead of the European Commission's decision last week. Sigmar Gabriel, the economy and energy minister, and Barbara Hendricks, environment minister, both publicly called for such mandates in the run-up to the decision. We did it too good and now we have to correct because otherwise we have an increasing of energy costs which will harm jobs in Germany in a serious way in the medium turn Wolfgang Schäuble, German finance minister Germany already provides significant subsidies for its renewable industries and is subject to an EU investigation into special exemptions that have shielded its manufacturers from the full cost of its high energy prices. Germany's advocacy of tough renewable targets has been seen in Brussels as a way to commit other EU countries to the same kind of policies toward renewables it has adopted at home. Mr Schäuble's remarks are the first by a senior German politician since the European Commission's proposal. Before the Brussels announcement, Mr Gabriel warned that Germany has "reached the limit of what we can ask of our economy" in terms of energy prices. But Mr Schäuble's remarks appeared to go further, suggesting a rolling-back of existing regulations was in order. Berlin has been pursuing a two-track strategy on renewables by resisting Brussels" view that exemptions granted to energy-intensive industries amount to subsidies, which might have to be paid back if the EU rules they amount to illegal state aid, while also warning the domestic audience that exemptions will have to be cut for some recipients as part of energy policy reform. Additional reporting by Christian Oliver in Brussels and Jeevan Vasagar in Berlin