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06 Feb 2018, 00:00
Kerstine Appunn Benjamin Wehrmann Julian Wettengel

Efficiency target in danger - report / Concerns about future grid

Eurostat / Tagesspiegel Background

Germany could flunk yet another climate target if it doesn鈥檛 increase energy efficiency, Susanne Ehlerding writes for Tagesspiegel Background. Germany鈥檚 efficiency target 鈥 like the EU鈥檚 鈥 is to reduce primary energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020 (compared to 2008). According to Eurostat figures released today, Germany reduced its gross inland energy consumption by 9.8 percent between 2006 and 2016.

Read the article (behind paywall) .

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The would-be coalition partners鈥 plan to reach a 65 percent share of renewables in Germany鈥檚 power mix by 2030 is an 鈥渁mbitious target,鈥 said Jochen Homann, president of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), at a meeting 聽held on the eve of the E-world energy and water fair in Essen. The draft treaty of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD) states that the country鈥檚 grid must be able to manage additional power flows. 鈥淚 think the politicians were smart to include this provision,鈥 said Homann. They had done so 鈥渒nowing that the grid would not be able to cope.鈥

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The energy industry in Germany are the 鈥済ood guys鈥 of the energy transition, as it is probably the only sector on track to do its part to meet the country鈥檚 target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020, Johannes Kempmann, president of industry association BDEW, said at the leaders鈥 meeting ahead of the E-world energy & water fair in Essen. Kempann welcomed aspects of the energy and climate draft agreement of coalition negotiators from CDU/CSU and SPD, but said the text lacked 鈥渁 clear commitment to gas鈥. Politicians have not yet understood that in the long term, gas is 鈥減art of the solution鈥 for climate protection, not part of the problem.

For background, read the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Germany鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets and find more reactions to Germany鈥檚 government coalition draft treaty here.

Zeit Online

Most Germans are more afraid of looming driving bans for polluting cars in inner cities than of the air pollution associated with these cars, says Klaus M眉ller, head of Germany鈥檚 federal consumer advice centre association vzbv, in an interview with Zeit Online. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear. Driving bans are the more urgent issue. You simply cannot taste or see nitrogen oxides. That鈥檚 what makes it so difficult to assess how dangerous they really are,鈥 M眉ller says. However, he says the problem of air pollution must be addressed, and that Germany鈥檚 federal states will have to present a credible solution to the problem if they want to avoid a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court on 22 February that could introduce immediate bans in several cities.

Find the interview in German .

See the 威力彩玩法 article on Germany鈥檚 diesel summit and its relevance for climate policy here.

Reuters

Prosecutors have searched the headquarters of German carmaker Audi looking for evidence of suspected manipulation of diesel exhaust gas values, news agency Reuters reports.
It is the second time in a year Audi鈥檚 premises have been raided in connection with the dieselgate scandal.

Find the article in English .

See 威力彩玩法鈥檚 dieselgate timeline for background.

Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) / Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA)

The decline of diesel cars鈥 share in new registrations in Germany continues, figures for January released by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) show. While the total number of newly registered passenger cars rose by 11.6 percent compared to the same month in 2017 to nearly 270,000 vehicles, the share of diesel vehicles fell by 17.6 percent. Cars with petrol engines accounted for almost 62 percent of all new registrations, and diesel cars for 33.3 percent, the KBA says. Registrations of electric cars rose by nearly 109 percent to about 2,765 vehicles 鈥 about 1 percent of all new cars on the road in January. The share of hybrid vehicles stood at 3.4 percent, cars running on natural gas reached 0.3 percent and liquefied natural gas vehicles 0.1 percent. The average CO2 emissions level of new cars rose by 0.5 percent to 128.4 grams per kilometre.
In a separate press release, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) says the buyer鈥檚 premium for electric cars issued by the German government has so far been most successful in the southern state of Bavaria, where about 6,600 people applied for the premium. The total number of applications for purely electric, hybrid and fuel-cell cars since the premium was introduced in July 2016 stands at 50,963, the BAFA says.

Find the KBA press release in German and the BAFA press release in German .

Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change

Introducing a CO2 price would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also the returns on investments into fossil fuel energy sources, leading to increased investment in technology, research and development in other sectors, the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) says in a new study. Economists Jan Siegmeier, Linus Mattauch and Ottmar Edenhofer run a mathematical proof in their paper 鈥淐apital beats coal: how collecting the climate rent increases aggregate investment鈥, refuting the common idea that a determined environmental policy would cause de-industrialisation.

Read the paper in English (behind paywall).

Mitteldeutsche Zeitung / Mibrag

German coal mining company Mibrag posted a 43.7 million euro loss in 2016, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reports. Mibrag, one of Germany鈥檚 four remaining lignite-mining companies, was suffering from Germany鈥檚 transition from fossil energy sources to renewables (the Energiewende) and falling wholesale power prices, a company statement says. 2017 would see a positive result again, the press release said. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung ascribed the 2016 loss to the shut-down of the Buschhaus power station, one of eight coal plants retired in Germany to reduce CO2 emissions. However, Mibrag will receive compensation payments for the plant in the years to come, the paper says.

Read the newspaper article in German .

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Andreas Pinkwart, Free Democratic (FDP) state energy minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, welcomed several energy and climate provisions of the draft coalition treaty between the conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD). Admitting that the 2020 climate target would probably not be reached was 鈥渕ore honest than upholding an ambitious target that we know is difficult to reach,鈥 Pinkwart told the 威力彩玩法 at the E-world energy & water fair in Essen. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 important now is that we reach the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Here, our responsibility is for 2030 and 2050. We now have time to properly prepare, and that really has to happen.鈥 Pinkwart said increasing the share of renewables in electricity generation to 65 percent by 2030 was realistic, 鈥渋f we don鈥檛 limit ourselves to one or two energy sources, but decide on a wide mix of renewables.鈥

Find more聽reactions to Germany鈥檚 government coalition draft treaty here.

M盲rkische Allgemeine Zeitung

Mining company Leag has admitted that its lignite mining activities in the east German region of Lusatia contribute to lower water gauges in the region鈥檚 lakes, Thorsten Gellner writes in the M盲rkische Allgemeine Zeitung. 鈥淭he environment ministry [of federal state Brandenburg] for the first time last year and now, surprisingly, Leag has followed suit,鈥 Gellner says. Environmentalist Ren茅 Schuster says Leag鈥檚 water withdrawal for coal mining has become 鈥渟o severe they could no longer deny it.鈥 However, Leag denies any responsibility for high levels of sulphate in the river Spree, which also flows through Germany鈥檚 capital Berlin, Gellner writes. Since Berlin draws part of its drinking water supply from the Spree, the city fears the flooding of a former open-pit mine will add to the costly problem of purifying the river鈥檚 water. Leag says these concerns are 鈥渦nfounded鈥 as flooding and other activities do not contribute to higher sulphate levels in the river.

See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Coal in Germany for more information.

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