Minister's 'coal solo' criticised / Consumers want to be 'climate friendly'
dpa
Criticism of environment minister鈥檚 鈥榮olo鈥� push for coal exit
North-Rhine Westphalia鈥檚 state premier Hannelore Kraft and her economy minister Garrelt Duin have criticised Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks鈥� push for a faster coal exit in the next 20-25 years. Hendricks had said that a coal phase out in Germany should be possible to organise within this time span and that the debate about it should start immediately after the Paris climate summit. Kraft and Duin, Social Democrats, like Hendricks, said her remarks didn鈥檛 represent the opinion of their party. As long as the storage problem for renewables remained unsolved and the grid expansion unfinished, 鈥渨e don鈥檛 need to talk about a coal exit鈥�, Duin said according to dpa.
Read the dpa report in German .
听
Frankfurter Rundschau
Making the Energiewende a model for all
German consumers have made it possible that the market for renewable power sources has opened up and has made them affordable, former German environment minister and head of UNEP, Klaus T枚pfer, told the Frankfurter Rundschau. A renaissance of nuclear power was unlikely since the technology was so expensive that it needs 鈥渕assive subsidies鈥� in industrial countries. It would also not be the solution for developing countries, he said. Germany has to now design its energy transition in a way that shows 鈥渢his is not only a model for rich states but also for developing nations鈥�.
听
taz 鈥� die tageszeitung
鈥淥nly in theory a good idea鈥�
Organising remuneration for renewable energies via auctions sounds very convincing in theory but leads to several problems in reality, writes Malte Kreutzfeld in an opinion piece for the taz. The whole project planning has to be financed in advance, before operators know whether they will succeed in the bidding process. This will be possible mostly for large investors but not for small citizen-run projects, Kreutzfeld says. The new rules will not kill the energy transition but they will lower acceptance for it among the general public.
Read the op-ed in German .
Read a 威力彩玩法 article on the switch from feed-in tariffs to auctions here.
听
PwC
鈥淐limate 鈥榝riendliness鈥� is important criterion for consumers鈥�
The majority of German consumers (80 %) regard 鈥渆nvironmental friendliness鈥� as an important criterion when buying products or services, a poll by consultancy PwC has found. Some 90 percent believe that a more sensible way to consume contributes to climate protection. Two-thirds of the 1000 participants said they would pay more for climate-friendly products. When buying shares in companies, however, 60 percent said that they considered the environmental record of the company to be unimportant. And 54 percent of Germans are happy to pay more for renewable power compared to other power sources. The figure among under 30-year-olds was 79 percent, PwC says.
听
Zeitung f眉r kommunale Wirtschaft
鈥淐ities oppose lignite 辫濒补苍蝉鈥�
Cities in North-Rhine Westphalia who hold shares in utility Steag (Germany鈥檚 fifth largest power supplier) are opposing the idea that the company could buy Vattenfall鈥檚 brown coal operations in eastern Germany. The city council of Essen has advised against the purchase which Steag had announced interest in earlier this month.
Read the article in German .
Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on Vattenfall鈥檚 coal assets in Germany here.
听
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
鈥淓U energy ministers secure implementation of energy and climate targets鈥�
The EU energy ministers have agreed on governance measures to coordinate national energy policies and climate action, writes the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Berlin. It establishes a consulting and monitoring process that, for the first time, also includes the questions whether targets are achieved. They also agreed on a back-up instrument in case member states don鈥檛 reach the binding EU renewable target. State Secretary Rainer Baake said it was an especially good result to have a clear implementation structure for the renewable target. This was showing that the EU was reliably achieving its 2030 energy and climate targets shortly before the climate summit in Paris.
Read the press release in German .
听
European Environment Agency (EEA)
CO2 emissions from new vehicles in Europe continued to decrease in 2014
Vehicles sold in the European Union in 2014 were, on average, 2.5 percent more efficient than those sold the previous year, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report tracks progress towards CO2 emission targets for passenger cars and gives an overview of the achievements of the different car manufacturers.
See the EAA report and a graph with car manufacturer achievements in English .
听
COP21 鈥� Road to Paris
Reuters
鈥淕ermany says Paris climate deal must include solid review scheme鈥�
The German government will consider the climate conference in Paris a success if the deal includes a solid review scheme that makes sure pledges for climate action by countries are transparent and will be kept, Reuters reports.
Read the article in English .
Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet about Germany鈥檚 negotiating positions at the COP in Paris here.
Read a 威力彩玩法 interview with Germany鈥檚 head negotiator here.
听
Euractiv
鈥淐OP21: Industry can be a part of the solution鈥�
A worldwide, robust climate deal from COP21 will convince industry leaders to invest in green technology and help tackle climate change, writes Dr. Reinhold Festge, President of German Engineering Federation VDMA in a guest article for EurActiv.
Read the op-ed in English .
Find 威力彩玩法 interviews with the VDMA and other German actors ahead of COP21 here.
听
Potsdam Institute for Climate Imapact Research
鈥淧rice on CO2: Why finance ministers could save the climate鈥�
Finance ministers around the world should have an interest in putting a price on carbon, irrespective of the risks of unabated climate change, a study by scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) finds. Governments would benefit from charging for CO2 emissions while lowering taxes on capital and work. Revenue from the CO2 price could be used on schools, infrastructure and security, the researcher suggest.
Find the PIK study in English (behind pay-wall).
