Major industrial and fossil fuel companies including Shell, BP and Tata Steel are among those calling on European politicians to consider forcing consumers to buy less polluting products, arguing that such action is needed to boost investment in the energy transition.

In a letter to the European Commission, published on Wednesday, they say companies trying to invest in production methods that may result in lower carbon emissions are “pricing themselves out of the market” due to high costs, and authorities need to step in to create demand for their products. 

“We will need to focus on demand creation to achieve new investment prospects,” they said in a letter to Wopke Hoekstra, EU climate commissioner, warning of an “industrial exodus” without intervention.