Media speculate about German coal exit / Optimism for Paris
Frankfurter Rundschau
鈥淕ermany plans the exit鈥�
A spectacular change in German energy policy is taking shape a few days before the start of the climate summit in Paris, 听writes Thorsten Knuf in Frankfurter Rundschau. The government considers to organise an exit from brown coal during the current legislative period, and environment minister Barbara Hendricks says the phase out might be possible within 20 to 25 years, reports Knuf. Hendricks said this debate should start immediately after the Paris summit. She said a national consensus was needed, also involving utilities and employees in the lignite sector.
Utility RWE, with extensive lignite operations, officially wants to operate its mines until 鈥渢he middle of the century鈥�. But RWE management told government representatives off the record that it is in favour of a long-term coal exit in order to have planning reliability, according to Knuf.
Read the article in German .
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鈥淢erkel must announce coal exit on Monday in her Paris speech鈥�
Environmental NGO Greenpeace says it is about time someone from the government said a timetable was needed for the coal exit. 鈥淐hancellor Merkel has to show now that her G7 pledge for decarbonisation was more than hot air. The chancellor must officially announce the German coal exit on Monday during her speech at the Paris climate conference,鈥� said Greenpeace energy expert Tobias Austrup in a statement. He says Merkel would do great damage to the credibility of 鈥渓ignite world champion鈥� Germany if she does not lend support to her environment minister.听听
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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
鈥淣ew era for renewable power鈥�
With its transition to auctions for determining financial support for most renewable power systems, the energy ministry plans a new era for renewables in Germany, writes Michael Bauchm眉ller in an article in S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. The ministry has sent a draft paper broadly outlining the reforms to the government鈥檚 parliamentary groups, according to Bauchm眉ller. In a separate commentary on the proposals, Bauchm眉ller writes that the previous system of fixed feed-in tariffs was a great system to get renewables off the ground. But now the time has come for an auction-based system because this could lower the costs for all power consumers. But he says the technical requirements of the new system would put private individuals or community-based projects at a disadvantage and the currently-planned advice was not enough.
A spokeswoman from the energy ministry told the 威力彩玩法 that the new draft was in line . 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 really anything new in this paper,鈥� the spokeswoman said. 鈥淭he works on a first draft law are ongoing and this is just one of the intermediate steps.鈥�
Find the article in German .
Read Bauchm眉ller鈥檚 commentary in German .听听听听
Read a 威力彩玩法 article detailing the reform plans here.
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脰办辞-滨苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟 / Fraunhofer ISI
鈥淥utlook for German climate action policy after 2020鈥�
A study by 脰办辞-滨苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟 and Fraunhofer ISI shows how Germany can achieve its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95 percent by 2050. Emissions from the energy sector would have to be nearly completely avoided by 2050, lead author Julia Repenning, from 脰办辞-滨苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟, said. The study, which was commissioned by the Environment Ministry, found that the decarbonisation target was achievable and could even bring long-term economic benefits. The transport and building sector particularly had to reduce emissions and primary energy consumption had to fall to half the current value. Germany would need five times the renewable electricity capacity in 2050 than today.
Read a short version of the study in German .
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Politico
鈥淭he good green German gets sticker shock鈥�
The transition to a world economy fed by renewable energy will be centre of the debate at the climate conference in Paris, writes Matthew听Karnitschnig for Politico. Germany鈥檚 energy transition (Energiewende) is viewed by enthusiasts as a blueprint for the world, and by sceptics as a 鈥済rand experiment鈥� that 鈥渃ould derail one of the world鈥檚 most finely tuned economies鈥�,听Karnitschnig writes. Advocates of the project point out that the German economy remains robust and say that costs will ultimately not be higher than continuing with the old system, he writes.听 Critics, meanwhile, warn that companies could increase investment abroad due to rising power prices,听Karnitschnig says.
Read the article in English .
Read a 威力彩玩法 dossier on the energy transition's effects on jobs and businesses here.
Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet 鈥淲hat businesses think of the energy transition鈥� here.
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AFP
Utilities: state should help with nuclear clean-up costs
The operators of Germany鈥檚 nuclear power plants demand that responsibilities for the nuclear clean-up are split between them and the state, they said at a hearing at the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, AFP writes. Rolf Martin Schmitz, COO at RWE, said uncertainty about political decisions were making it difficult for utilities to calculate how high costs for nuclear waste storage would be, posing a great obstacle to utilities at capital markets. He criticised particularly that the finding of a final storage for nuclear waste by the government was delayed and proposed a state-operated fund to finance the nuclear clean-up that utilities would pay assets into.
Former Environment Minister J眉rgen Trittin (Green Party), who headed the hearing, said that the societal consensus for a nuclear phase-out had been a fact since the beginning of the century, as had the government target of increasing the share of renewables.
Read the report in German .
Read a 威力彩玩法 dossier on Germany's nuclear phase-out here.
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Die Welt
鈥淪outhern states demand law for wind energy quota鈥�
Three southern German states are pushing for a regional quota for wind power installations, reports Daniel Wetzel in Die Welt. The states believe it is unfair that most of the wind turbines are built in the north of Germany, because there is more wind and the installation is cheaper than in the hilly south. All regions should have the 鈥渙pportunity to benefit from the Energiewende鈥�, Wetzel quotes from a proposal the states want to pass in the upper house of the German parliament. 听
Read the article in German .
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COP21 - The Road to Paris
Huffington Post
鈥淐limate protection: A transatlantic reason for optimism鈥�
Peter Wittig, the German Ambassador to the US, writes in a commentary for the Huffington Post that he is optimistic the Paris Climate Conference will yield positive results.听 He says there is unprecedented transatlantic unity on the issue of climate change, green energy is becoming affordable, and there are many pledges from the public and private sectors. Wittig explains that the Energiewende is a concrete policy to shift away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy, and fits well with the EU鈥檚 ambitious energy and climate policy. He argues Germany鈥檚 energy transition protects the environment, makes economic sense, and is making the country more independent, as well as providing geopolitical security.
Read his commentary in English .
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Energy-Intensive Industries in Germany (EID)
鈥淲e need a level playing field鈥�
The Association of Energy-Intensive Industries in Germany (EID) says it is in favour of an ambitious climate agreement in Paris, but insists European industries will need support to maintain its competitiveness.听 The climate summit was likely to produce a deal pointing in the right direction of more global climate action, but Europe looked still likely to pursue more ambitious goals than the rest of the world, Utz Tillmann, EID spokesman and head of the German Chemicals Industry Association VCI, told journalists. The EU commission's planned reforms of the European emissions trading system posed a risk to many energy intensive industries and needed to be corrected in order to avoid "carbon leakage", i.e. the move of energy and carbon intensive industries abroad.
Read the EID press release in German .
