In the media: CO2 emissions from cars; citizens' energy pushed out?
Spiegel Online
鈥淓xhaust affair: VW tricks increase doubts about climate calculations鈥�
Car manufacturers are not only using tricks to stay under nitrogen oxide thresholds in tests but also to reduce fuel consumption and thereby CO2 emissions of their vehicles, reports David B枚cking on Spiegel Online. Environmental organisations have warned for years that true CO2 emissions of cars can be up to 50 percent higher than under unrealistic lab conditions. The German government made reducing emissions from cars a key element of its Climate Action Programme in December 2014. But the VW affair shows that emission reductions based on manufacturers鈥� own information are not to be trusted, B枚cking says.
Read the article in German .
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International New York Times
鈥淕ermans take a tumble from moral high ground鈥�
鈥淰olkswagen鈥檚 deception raises doubt in a nation known for following rules,鈥� writes Alison Smale in the International New York Times. It also puts the nation in 鈥渁n awkward spot鈥� ahead of the UN climate change summit in Paris in December, where Germany would be held up as a model for how an industrial nation can replace fossil fuels largely with renewables, the author says.
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
鈥淭esla head advises more electric cars for Germany鈥�
Elon Musk, CEO of e-car company Tesla said in a discussion with German economy and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel that Germany鈥檚 amazing car manufacturers and engineers should now dare to take up electric mobility, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes. While Gabriel suggested incentives to urge people to buy more e-cars, Musk said he would prefer if the state kept out of the vehicle markets, saying that penalties for high CO2 emissions would work better than subsidies to ensure that clean engines were winning. With regard to VW鈥檚 diesel scandal, Musk said that this was about nitrogen oxide emissions but he was more worried about global warming and the condition of the sea. Chancellor Angela Merkel recently said Germany would decide on e-car incentives in 2015, the article says.
Read the article in German .
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Zeit Online
鈥淏urying the opposition鈥�
The plan to bury large power lines between northern and southern Germany is causing headaches for those in charge of the project and could delay the grid expansion by years, writes Marlies Uken in a commentary for Zeit Online. The decision by Chancellor Angela Merkel and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel over the summer almost went unnoticed, but its implementation is not so simple, she says. The cost of burying the cables and whether tunnels will be needed where cables cross railways or rivers is unclear. In addition, there are not enough cables, Uken writes. Only two companies produce the necessary technology and not yet in large amounts. It鈥檚 good if politicians listen to citizens who oppose overland cables and pylons. But the citizens have to know it will cost them more to bury the lines.
Read the op-ed in German .
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Dow Jones Newswires
鈥淏ottom-up development of a European support system for renewables鈥�
Looking at the wide variety of state incentives for renewable energy across Europe, there is no apparent plan for a uniform system any time soon, Rainer Baake, state secretary in the energy ministry, said in Berlin, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Instead Germany was looking to develop common rules from the 鈥渂ottom up鈥�, by making bilateral and regional arrangements with other countries. Germany鈥檚 next Renewable Energy Act foresees allowing foreign project developers to participate in its auction system for renewable power stations, if the other country granted the same right to German projects, Baake said.
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Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
鈥淓conomy ministry supports heating checks to increase energy efficiency鈥�
The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is giving 1.5 million euros in 2015 and 2016 to consumer associations that organise so-called heating checks for households. From 1 October 2015, households can hire independent energy consultants to analyse how their home heating systems can be made more efficient and less expensive. Heating often accounts for the largest share of energy consumption in households, the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV) says. The heating check costs 30 euros; for low-income households it will be free, the ministry press release said.
Read the press release in German .
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Frankfurter Rundschau
鈥淲e are being pushed out鈥�
All new draft laws show that the government sees large energy companies as the future and not decentralised power from citizen cooperatives, Thomas Banning, head of citizen energy association told the Frankfurter Rundschau in an interview. The government鈥檚 new auction system for wind and solar power would eventually force citizen cooperatives and small utilities out of the market, as they can鈥檛 compete with large suppliers in the bidding process. Banning suggests that auctions should only be used for large projects like offshore wind parks while small, decentralised projects under 10 MW capacity should receive administratively determined feed-in tariffs.
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Burlington Free Press
鈥淕ermany's renewable energy path: Right for Vermont?鈥�
People in Vermont and Germans share a lot of dreams about energy independence, smart grid solutions and lowering emissions, writes Joel Banner Baird in the Burlington Free Press, reporting on the visit of Berlin-based renewable energy consultant Miranda Schreurs to the University of Vermont鈥檚 Clean Energy Fund / Energy Action Seminar. While Germany wants 60 percent renewables鈥� consumption by 2050, Vermont is looking to become 90 percent renewable by then, but it is also less industrial and benefits from higher solar power efficiency, the article says.
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Nature Climate Change / Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
鈥淗ow to tackle climate change and poverty simultaneously鈥�
Economist Ottmar Edenhofer and a team of authors from the MCC have published an analysis finding that poverty in developing and emerging nations can only be overcome by limiting climate change. The researchers conclude: 鈥淓conomic analyses have shown that limiting the use of the atmospheric carbon sink would have significant consequences for the global distribution of wealth.鈥� Furthermore, they say, 鈥淭his would devalue the assets of fossil fuel resource owners.鈥� The authors say wealthier nations should contribute more to the cost of climate protection. They also propose putting a price on carbon either through an emissions-trading system or a tax to raise revenue for sustainable development funding.
Today (Friday), the UN Summit in New York will adopt the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, containing 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Read the MCC press release in English .
Read the article in Nature Climate Change (behind pay wall) .
