In the media: Unions at odds over coal levy
S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
鈥淢etal vs coal鈥�
Unions are deeply split on the issue of the proposed coal levy, according to an article by Michael Bauchm眉ller in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Germany's听听industrial metalworkers union听attacked protests against the plan in a letter sent to energy minister Sigmar Gabriel and the head of coal union IG BCE, Michael Vassiliadis, one of the most vocal opponents of the levy. 鈥淲e advocate coming clean with colleagues in the coal industry,鈥� the paper quotes from the letter. Electricity generated from coal 鈥渋s a climate killer that can no longer be justified." The letter continues: 鈥淕reen energies are an important engine for growth and already provide employment to dozens of times more people than brown coal.鈥�
Find the article in German .
Read a 威力彩玩法 article about the ministry's proposal for the levy here.
Read a 威力彩玩法 article about the current debate over job losses here.
Read a 威力彩玩法 article about the role of the unions in the energy transition here.
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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
鈥淐oal has to stay in the ground鈥�
The government鈥檚 proposal for a CO2-levy on old coal-fired power stations is a credible and sensible blueprint, writes from the Energy Institute at University College London (UCL) in a commentary in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. 鈥淭his year is eminently important for climate protection and the decision to gradually reduce the use of coal will strengthen Germany鈥檚 leadership role and will be noted far beyond Germany,鈥� writes Ekins with reference to the Paris climate summit at the end of the year and the G7 summit in Germany in June. 鈥淭he logic for a phase-out of coal is inescapable in Germany and the rest of the world,鈥� he says, adding that industrialised nations have promised to lead by example in the effort to stop global warming. 鈥淭here comes a time when the fulfilment of such a promise requires hard decisions. Germany has now reached that point,鈥� writes Ekins.
Read the article on-line in German . 听
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
鈥淲e can鈥檛 just wipe out coal鈥�
Energy minister Sigmar Gabriel鈥檚 proposal for a coal levy cannot become reality in its current form, according to Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 CDU. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 just wipe out coal now, not even through the back door,鈥� Kauder said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He added: 鈥淲e have no intention of organising the exit from coal. But it鈥檚 also clear that we have to achieve our climate goals.鈥�
Read an article about the interview in German .
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
鈥淭he battle for brown coal鈥�
Despite the unexpected revival of brown coal in the past years, it鈥檚 obvious that this inefficient fuel will be phased out in the not-too-distant future 鈥� even if the government does not yet dare to phrase it this way, writes Lena Schipper in a two-page article in the Frankfurter Allgmeine Sonntagszeitung. But a phase-out carries economic risks, according to Schipper. 鈥淭herefore, the current conflict is about fundamental issues. Which has higher priority over the medium term: Ecology or jobs?鈥�
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Die Welt
鈥淗oney, I shrunk the power pylon鈥�
Transmission grid operator 50Hertz is investigating the use of a new, smaller kind of power pylon, Daniel Wetzel reports in Die Welt. The 鈥淐ompactLine鈥� masts would be 36 metres instead of 60 metres high but could still serve to build 400 kilovolt power highways; from 2017 on they will be tested on a pilot route. 50Hertz hopes that smaller masts will increase public acceptance of power lines, the article says.
Read the on-line version of the article in German .
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Handelsblatt
鈥淢erkel opposes capacity markets鈥�
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel have come to an agreement concerning the reform of Germany鈥檚 power market, the Handelsblatt writes. Citing un-named government sources, Daniel Delhaes and Dana Heide write that Merkel had opposed subsidies for conventional power stations to ensure security of supply. However, according to sources from the Bavarian state government, there will be a special financing arrangement for the gas-fired power station in Irsching, in order to secure power supply from this modern plant in Bavaria that operator E.ON had threatened to close down.
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Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung (FAZ)
鈥淎 mandatory two-degree-limit would be a success鈥�
The German government will emphasize the need for the G7 countries to hand in their national climate commitments for an international climate protection agreement before they attend the G7 meeting in Bavaria in June, Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks told the FAZ in an interview. 鈥淭he G7 summit should create momentum for the climate conference in Paris,鈥� Hendricks said. The large industrialised nations have to pioneer the mitigation of climate change by setting themselves ambitious targets, she added. Apart from committing to the two-degree warming-limit, it is important that countries agreed on binding rules for measurements and reference years for greenhouse gas emissions, she said.
