Court to hear Peruvian farmer's case against RWE/ SUV for the climate
A court in Germany has agreed to hear Peruvian farmer and mountain guide Sa煤l Luciano Lliuya鈥檚 case against RWE, over the German utility鈥檚 contribution to climate change, NGO Germanwatch said in a press release. 鈥淚t is the first time a court has acknowledged that a private company is in principal responsible for its part in causing climate damage,鈥� the press release says. Germanwatch is supporting Lliuya in his legal battle against Germany鈥檚 largest electricity provider. The NGO says Lliuya鈥檚 case is 鈥渙f great legal relevance鈥� and has immediate implications for the legal responsibilities of all of the world鈥檚 major emitters. According to Lliuya鈥檚 lawyer, Roda Verheyen, 鈥渆ntering into evidentiary phase of this case is in itself already writing legal history鈥�, as emitters could now be liable for compensation for damage caused by a warming global climate. The Peruvian farmer says RWE, which has been among Germany鈥檚 largest emitters for several decades, should part-finance measures to protect his village in the Andes, which is threatened by glacier-melt thought to be linked to global warming.
Read the press release in English .
See the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and climate change for information.
Die Welt
Germany鈥檚 largest carmaker, VW, plans to release several new model heavy SUVs, bringing the share of the CO2-intense cars up to 40 percent of total sales, Nikolaus Doll reports for Die Welt. In light of stricter EU emissions limits from 2020, this strategy may seem 鈥渁bsurd鈥�, Doll writes. But brand manager Herbert Diess argues sales of the high-demand vehicles will allow VW to invest over 34 billion euros in 鈥渇uture technologies鈥� 鈥� mainly the development e-cars. Diess called the SUVs 鈥渙ur growth and profitability engine鈥� that will generate the funds needed to 鈥渇inance the transition to e-mobility鈥�.
Read the article in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Dieselgate forces VW to embrace green mobility and 威力彩玩法鈥檚 Dieselgate timeline for background.
CDU Economic Council / S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
The Economic Council of German Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 conservative CDU says the party should give serious consideration to a minority government, in order to avoid a new grand coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). In a statement, the economic council said a grand coalition would only be possible if the CDU agreed to the SPD鈥檚 demands on welfare policy, which it says are 鈥渇ar too costly鈥�. The council also argues that a renewal of the CDU-SPD coalition would weaken both parties, strengthening the far-right and far-left fringes of German politics. The CDU's Economic Council is no internal party organ but rather a business association positioning itself close to the CDU's economic policy principles.聽
On Thursday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with the party leaders of the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the CSU, and the SPD, to sound out a possible coalition. According to the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, Social Democratic Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said his party would not rush into a decision on exploratory talks with the conservatives. 鈥淣obody should expect this to happen quickly,鈥� Gabriel said.
Read the council鈥檚 statement in German and the article in German .
See 威力彩玩法鈥檚 Coalition Watch and the article on Government gridlock for background.
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
The government of Germany鈥檚 most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), has affirmed its intention to continue felling the Hambach Forest to make way for a highly controversial lignite mine in the west German region, Christian Wernicke reports for the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. 鈥淟ignite mining in the Rhine area continues to be necessary,鈥� NRW鈥檚 economy minister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP) said. During a debate in the state parliament, the Green Party called on conservative premier Armin Laschet to arbitrate between anti-coal mining protesters who have been occupying the forest for several years, and the mining company RWE, which also operates the region鈥檚 lignite-fuelled power plants. Earlier this week, a court ordered that the clearing of trees in the forest must be stopped until a pending lawsuit had been decided. The current CDU-FDP government, as well as the formerly governing SPD, are in favour of continuing mining activities in the region, Wernicke writes.
Read the article in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Coal in Germany for more information.
IFW Kiel
Successful bidders in Germany鈥檚 auction system for onshore wind power projects should be subject to penalty payments if they fail to implement their accepted projects in time, Hilke Wilts and Ruth Delzeit write in a policy brief by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IFW Kiel). They says fines could ensure renewables expansion in Germany is not obstructed by citizens鈥� energy projects, which some industry actors fear will not pursue their projects with the same rigour as conventional bidders. 鈥淭he considerable bid-price decrease over the last bidding rounds makes it practically impossible to run wind farms profitably,鈥� the authors say, arguing that penalty payments could counteract this trend.
Find the policy brief in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet High hopes and concerns over onshore wind power auctions for background.
Federal Government
Germany passed on the presidency of the Group of Twenty major economies to Argentina on 1 December, the federal government said in a press release. Government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said the G20 had delivered important results in 2017, demonstrating that it was up to dealing with world鈥檚 current challenges. He highlighted the German presidency鈥檚 鈥渟uccess鈥� in securing sustained commitment to the Paris Agreement, with all members except the United States agreeing the accord was 鈥渋rreversible鈥�. The German government says its successor has committed to continuing many of the initiatives launched under the German presidency, a position that Argentinian environment minister Sergio Bergman confirmed in an interview with the 威力彩玩法.
Find the press release in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 interview with Argentina鈥檚 environment minister Bergman and the 威力彩玩法 dossier on Germany鈥檚 G20 presidency for more information.
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
A recent decision by the Danish parliament allowing a ban on construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Germany and Russia on Danish maritime territory in the Baltic Sea highlights divisions between Berlin and other European states over the controversial project, Daniel Br枚ssler and Alexander M眉hlauer write for the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. The move by the Danish parliament, which could lead to a deviation of the pipeline鈥檚 course, 鈥渋s not the biggest problem鈥� for Nord Stream 2, the authors say. Several eastern European countries that fear the pipeline will bypass them as transit countries, as well as the United States, have repeatedly criticised the project. German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel told Russian business partners in St. Petersburg the German government would seek to ensure the project is implemented, despite objections from other EU member states and the European Commission. Gabriel said Russian gas company Gazprom and other companies involved in Nord Stream 2 needed 鈥渓egal security鈥�, Br枚ssler聽 and M眉hlauer report.
Read the article in German .
Read other 威力彩玩法 news digest items about developments on the issue here. For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The Energiewende and its implications for international security and the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Germany鈥檚 dependence on imported fossil fuels.
