Gov't: Close ranks of remaining G20 / US move draws sharp criticism
威力彩玩法 / Federal German government
After the US decision to leave the Paris Agreement, the German government will work on uniting all remaining G20 members in climate protection efforts in the run-up to the summit in July, said government spokesperson Steffen Seibert at a press conference in Berlin. 鈥淲e will probably not have complete unanimity on this topic. Our task will be to close the ranks of the remaining G20 members and rally them behind the Paris Agreement,鈥� said Seibert. The German government will work towards this goal in the preparatory meetings for the summit. At the summit, the G20 action plan on climate and energy - initiated by the German presidency - will also be debated, according to Seibert. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed in a telephone call after the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement that the two countries will propose additional initiatives for climate protection, said Seibert.
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 articles German reactions to US decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement and Germany, China urge US to remain in climate agreement.
Tageszeitung (taz)
鈥淪yria, Nicaragua, and now the United States鈥� 鈥� these are the countries that do not take part in the Paris Agreement, Bernhard P枚tter writes in a commentary for the left-wing newspaper Tageszeitung (taz). These cases might be different but they share a common trait, he says. 鈥淭heir leaderships disregard the law, are extremely short-sighted, and only care about furthering their own interests. And that鈥檚 the way they should be treated鈥�, P枚tter argues. Other states, first and foremost Germany, 鈥渘eed to start playing hardball鈥� and sanction this 鈥渂etrayal of trust鈥�. The EU should remember 鈥渋ts diplomatic threat potential鈥� and 鈥� just like with the sanctions on Russia 鈥� 鈥渢emporarily withdraw its ambassador, support the opposition in the US politically and economically鈥�, and 鈥�valorise insubordinate states like California鈥�.
Read the commentary in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 article German reactions to US decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement for background.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Back in December 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was hailed as a 鈥渉istoric鈥� achievement - 17 months later it rather looks like international diplomacy has incurred an on-the-job accident of historic proportions, Andreas Mihm writes in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Climate diplomacy has visibly lost momentum 鈥減artly due to Trump, whose criticism of environmental policy greatly irritates conservationist organisations and leaves other governments clueless鈥�, Mihm says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not all Trump鈥檚 fault鈥� 鈥� many economists are convinced that the voluntary commitments by signatories of the Paris Agreement are inadequate to substantially bring down emissions, and instead they call for a global carbon price. This 鈥渃hange of strategy鈥� would incentivise cost-efficient clean energy generation and ensure that Germany鈥檚 renewables expansion does not become 鈥渁 negative example鈥� that deters other countries due to its costs, Mihm says.
Read the article in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 article German reactions to US decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement for background.
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
A rule of thumb in international environmental policy so far has been that it will move forward as long as the US and China agree 鈥� 鈥渂ut this rule seems to have become obsolete鈥�, Jan Heidtmann writes in S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. At the latest G7 summit, as well as in the run-up to the G20 summit, new alliances have emerged led by China, Canada, and the EU, 鈥渁nd especially by Germany,鈥� he explains. Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang made a vow in Berlin that his country will remain committed to the Paris Climate Agreement鈥檚 targets, and so will India and Russia, Heidtmann writes. While the treaty is unlikely to reach its goal of keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius 鈥� 鈥渁lso due to Germany, which despite its Energiewende constantly waters down targets and bows鈥� to industry pressure 鈥� 鈥渋t is a success inasmuch as it forms a global alliance for climate protection,鈥� he argues.
Read the article in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 article German reactions to US decision to withdraw from Paris Agreement for background.
Handelsblatt Online
The decision by US President Donald Trump to pull his country out of the global Paris Climate Agreement has been met with dismay and defiance by the German government, Silke Kersting writes on Handelsblatt Online. Meanwhile, environmental organisations criticise Germany for its largely stagnant emissions reduction and reprimand it for taking鈥� 鈥渕incing steps at best,鈥� she writes. 鈥淭he federal government has no real clue how ambitious climate protection could work in an industrialised country鈥�, Kersting argues, pointing at watered down ambitions in Germany鈥檚 Climate Action Plan 2050. Olaf Tschimpke, president of the environmental group NABU, says that 鈥淕ermany finally needs a legal framework for exiting coal,鈥� which is responsible for 80 percent of its emissions, Kersting writes. According to Tschimpke, the government鈥檚 refusal to adopt such a framework lets Germany 鈥渄rag behind its global obligations and leaves people in coal regions mired in uncertainty鈥�.
Read the article in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet When will Germany finally ditch coal? and the 威力彩玩法 dossier The energy transition and climate change for more information.
Reuters
German carmaker Daimler has agreed to make a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� investment in the production of electric vehicles in China, news agency Reuters reports. Together with its long-term partner company BAIC, the German luxury car brand has made 鈥�an important first step鈥� toward making China a production site for the new Mercedes e-car brand EQ, although the decision is not final yet, a spokesperson told Reuters.
Read the article in German and in English .
See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Reluctant Daimler plans 鈥渞adical鈥� push into new mobility world for background.
Handelsblatt Online
After three years of rapid shrinking and the loss of more than 100,000 jobs, Germany鈥檚 solar industry seems to have bottomed out, Franz Hubik writes on Handelsblatt Online. 鈥淎lthough the market has shrunk to a fifth of its original size, it now was at least growing, albeit at a low level鈥�. This signalled a 鈥渢rend reversal,鈥� Hubik ays. The industry would now 鈥�hope for a solar boom 2.0,鈥� which was backed by a year-on-year expansion of 65 percent in the first quarter 2017, he explains. But this time the reason people buy solar panels is not because they receive financial support from the German government. In fact, such support has been drastically cut. 鈥淪ince the costs of battery storage have fallen by about 40 percent, it becomes increasingly profitable to not feed the electricity coming from the roof into the grid, but instead to store and consume it privately,鈥� Hubik writes.
Read the article in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 article Last major German solar cell maker surrenders to Chinese competition for more information.
