Ministries wrestle over coal commission / Approval for Nord Stream 2
Reuters
The German ministries for economic affairs and energy (BMWi) and environment (BMU) compete for taking the lead in the planned commission that is tasked with preparing the country鈥檚 coal exit 鈥� dubbed "coal commission" 鈥�, Reuters news agency reports. Economy and energy minister Peter Altmaier said it 鈥渕akes sense鈥� for his ministry to head the commission, as this had already been decided in Germany鈥檚 Climate Action Plan 2050, the article says. Environment minister Svenja Schulze described Altmaier鈥檚 claim as 鈥渋rritating,鈥� as no decision on the commission鈥檚 leadership has yet been made by the new government. The commission is expected to agree on a roadmap for the phase-out of coal-fired power production to help Germany achieve its climate targets, and to draft a follow-up plan for mining regions鈥� economic future. Schulze argued that it affects both ministries equally. Altmaier said that he wants the commission to start work before the German parliament鈥檚 summer break.
Read the article in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The next German government and the energy transition.
Government of the state of North Rhine Westphalia
Germany鈥檚 new economy and energy minister Peter Altmaier said that the country will reach its 2030 climate targets if it starts to work towards them without delay. Addressing a joint press conference with North Rhine-Westphalia鈥檚 (NRW) state premier Armin Laschet in D眉sseldorf, Altmaier said that the new German government would examine where it stands regarding all its national and European targets, and 鈥渟ee whether or not certain measures are recommendable鈥�. State premier Laschet added that reaching the 2030 goals 鈥渋s going to be ambitious鈥�. He also recalled the failed coalition talks between the conservative CDU/CSU alliance, the Free Democrats (FDP) and the Green Party, where reaching the country鈥檚 2020 greenhouse gas reduction goal was a focal issue. 鈥淭he year 2020 鈥� we will work towards it, but it鈥檚 not the target date of all efforts, as discussed in the Jamaica talks. So the new coalition has set a different course.鈥� Altmaier said Germany will reduce coal-fired power generation capacities by a certain amount by 2030, but 鈥渙f course there will still be hard coal and lignite for many years after that.鈥� NRW鈥檚 government had approved lignite mining until 2045, added Laschet, and 鈥渙ne could assume that the [coal exit] commission will decide on an earlier date鈥�.
Watch a video of the press conference in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossier The next German government and the energy transition and the factsheet Germany鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets.
Nord Stream 2 / BSH
With the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (), the last German authority has approved the construction and operation of the contentious Russian-German Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. The interests of shipping and the maritime environment do not stand in the way of building the 31 km stretch of the pipeline in Germany鈥檚 exclusive economic zone (EEZ), said the BSH. Nord Stream 2 AG welcomed the approval and said that construction will start as planned in 2018. The Stralsund Mining Authority had previously approved the construction and operation in German territorial waters and the landfall area. Permits by Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Russia are still outstanding, said Nord Stream 2. The pipeline will largely run parallel to the existing Nord Stream pipeline, and is expected to come into service in late 2019.
Find the BSH press release in German , and the Nord Stream 2 press release in English .
For background, read the news digest entry Nord Stream 2: green light for 55-kilometre section in German territorial waters and the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Germany鈥檚 dependence on imported fossil fuels.
AFP / Welt Online
Foreign minister Heiko Maas said that Germany would be dedicated to dealing with climate change-related conflict risks should the country be elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2019/2020, reports the AFP news agency in an article carried by Welt Online. Germany will 鈥渢ake on a leadership role in the fight against climate change,鈥� and climate action belonged on the UN Security Council鈥檚 agenda, said Maas in New York at a meeting with small island state representatives.聽
Find the article in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 dossiersCOP23 climate summit 鈥� All eyes on Germany and G20 2017 - Climate and energy at the Hamburg summit.
Zukunft Erdgas
By 28 March Germany had already used up its annual CO鈧� budget for 2018, one week earlier than last year, according to the natural gas industry initiative Zukunft Erdgas. 鈥淭he reason for this is the climate strategy of the government, where the measures take effect only in the distant future. But we must save CO鈧� today,鈥� said Timm Kehler, director of Zukunft Erdgas, a lobby group that promotes the use of natural gas instead of other fossil fuels to help protect the climate. , researchers calculated Germany鈥檚 share of global carbon emissions in line with keeping the temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius. Based on this data, Germany is allowed to emit 217 million tonnes of CO鈧� in 2018, according to Zukunft Erdgas. If Germany emits about the same total amount this year as in 2017, its budget is now used up, said the initiative.
Find the press release in German , and a factsheet on the calculations in German .
For background, read the 威力彩玩法 article Energy sector drives slight drop in German emissions in 2017 and the 威力彩玩法 factsheet Germany鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets.
