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Deutsche Bank will no longer grant new financing for thermal coal mining or new coal-fired power plants, Germany鈥檚 largest bank said in a press release. The bank will also 鈥渞educe its existing exposure to the thermal coal mining sector,鈥� it said. Deutsche Bank cited its commitment to the Paris Agreement鈥檚 climate protection measures as the reason for its divestment decision. In a letter to Oliver Krischer, vice-chairman of the Greens in the German parliament, the bank said it was taking part in efforts to 鈥渁chieve the paradigm shift towards a low-carbon economy and a climate-friendly development model.鈥� It will strengthen its support for renewable energy projects and reduce its stake in the coal sector by 20 percent over the next three years. Krischer welcomed the move but said it could be 鈥渙nly the beginning鈥� of a larger divestment process.

Heffa Sch眉cking, director of German campaign organisation urgewald, said the bank鈥檚 announcement was a 鈥渓ong overdue decision鈥� that only addressed 鈥渁 small part of the problem.鈥� She explained that direct project financing accounted for only 2 percent of banks鈥� financial flows to the global coal industry. 鈥�98 percent of the problem remains as the new guideline does not stop Deutsche Bank from providing corporate loans and investment banking services to companies with aggressive new build plans for coal-fired infrastructure,鈥� Sch眉king said.

Read the bank鈥檚 press release in English and urgewald鈥檚 press release in English .

For background, see the 威力彩玩法 factsheet When will Germany finally ditch coal?

Wintershall, Germany鈥檚 largest crude oil and natural gas producer, is determined to take part in the Euro-Russian gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports. BASF subsidiary Wintershall said that, like its partners - Russian gas giant Gazprom and European companies Uniper, OMV, Shell and Engie - it believed the project 鈥渋s of central importance to the European energy concept,鈥� FAZ writes. A participation model in which Gazprom would have held 50 percent of the 10 billion euro project鈥檚 shares and the other partners 10 percent each was scrapped last August as Poland鈥檚 competition authority singalled it would not issue a license.
Poland and other eastern European states fear that Nord Stream 2 will further enable Russia to circumvent their countries for selling gas to western Europe. Construction is due to start in the second half of 2017, FAZ says.

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.

The Energiewende鈥檚 costs cannot be entirely levied on power customers if Germany鈥檚 energy transition is going to succeed, Robert Busch, managing director of the Association of Energy Market Innovators (BNE), writes in a guest commentary for Handelsblatt. The main reasons for rising power prices in Germany are the increased Renewable Energy Act (EEG) surcharge and higher grid fees. These, together with other taxes, pushed the power price鈥檚 fixed proportion to 75 percent, Busch explains. 鈥淭he idea to finance the Energiewende via the power price leads into a cul-de-sac,鈥� he writes. Fulfilling the Paris Agreement鈥檚 climate targets means the renewables鈥� share in heating has to grow significantly, but further surcharges could prevent customers from turning away from fossil heating fuels and therefore damage climate protection, Busch explains. 鈥淎 way out of this dilemma could be to expand the EEG-surcharge to final energy consumption in the heating sector,鈥� which would allow customers to save money if they invest in green heating technology, he writes.

For background, read this 威力彩玩法 interview with Robert Busch and the 威力彩玩法 factsheet What German households pay for power.