威力彩玩法

Germany鈥檚 largest mining trade union has called on the next federal government to assign the tasks related to energy, transport, and housing policies to a 鈥榤inistry of energy transition鈥�. This would help the country avoid the current 鈥渦ncoordinated patchwork鈥� in its energy transformation-related policies, said IG BCE head Michael Vassiliadis at a union conference in Hanover. The union head also called on the next government to give coal mining regions undergoing structural change a 鈥渟ufficiently financed reliable prospect鈥� for the future. Germany aims to make its energy supply largely CO鈧�-neutral by 2050, and the country鈥檚 lignite mines would be "largely out of use" by then. Yet, NGOs and certain political camps are conducting 鈥渉ysterical campaigns鈥� against coal, he said. Addressing the possible alliance of Merkel鈥檚 conservatives (CDU/CSU) with the Free Democrats (FDP) and the Green Party 鈥� a so-called 鈥楯amaica coalition鈥� 鈥� and a potential coal exit agreement, Vassiliadis said: 鈥淭here actually are fears that our people in the mining areas will have to foot the bill for the 鈥楯amaica鈥� wedding party鈥�. The IG BCE stands by the climate targets agreed in Paris. 鈥淣o ifs and buts. And Paris is not the problem鈥�, he said. Instead, it is the German policy that does not live up to the climate agreement. While the Energiewende is expensive and costs jobs, its targets are not reached, said Vassiliadis.

Find the full remarks in German , and a press release in German .听

For background on Germany鈥檚 future government coalition read 威力彩玩法鈥檚 coalition watch, and check out the factsheet When will Germany finally ditch coal?

The avalanche of press reports on the 2015 Paris Climate Summit reached the majority of the German public, but didn鈥檛 trigger any changes in their attitude towards climate change, a study by Michael Br眉ggemann et al from the University of Hamburg has found. The team asked 1,121 people about their knowledge of and attitude towards climate change before, during, and after the Paris conference. During the conference, the respondents鈥� trust in the global community鈥檚 ability to successfully tackle global warming increased, but their willingness to engage in climate protection efforts themselves did not.

Read the article (behind paywall).

The German port city of Hamburg has concluded the trial phase of a massive subterranean aquifer heat storage system, which is supposed to replace a coal plant and which can provide heat to 8,000 households in winter, Julia Witte writes in Die Welt. 鈥淗amburg鈥檚 largest thermos flask鈥�, as the aquifer is dubbed jokingly, can absorb about 160 million kilowatt hours of heat in water that has been heated to 80 degrees Celsius and then pumped back into the ground to preserve the temperature, she writes. With investment costs of about six million euros, 鈥渁 subterranean storage is much cheaper than insulated tanks above the ground鈥�. Storing heat is one of the Energiewende鈥檚 greatest challenges, Witte explains, adding that the moderate heat loss of about twelve percent on average provides grounds for optimism that aquifers can indeed offer a solution.

Find more information in the 威力彩玩法 dossier Cities, municipalities and the Energiewende.