New govt report on climate ups pressure on Germany鈥檚 coal commission
Germany will likely miss its self-imposed 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, according to a draft of the government鈥檚 Climate Protection Report, which was leaked to the press and seen by the 威力彩玩法. The environment ministry's report is due to be published in early December.
Current trends point to an emissions cut of only 32 percent by 2020 compared to 1990, which contrasts with the official target of a 40 percent reduction, the report states,聽echoing earlier ministry estimates.
The draft report emphasises that the so-called coal commission is charged with proposing new measures to help narrow the gap 鈥渁s far as possible.鈥�
The world鈥檚 fourth largest economy has made climate protection one of the priorities in its Energiewende, a dual shift from fossil fuels and nuclear power to a renewables-based energy system. Germany鈥檚聽greenhouse gas聽emissions have remained stubbornly high in recent years, but the country is聽headed for its largest emissions drop since the 2009 recession this year. Since the decrease was partly caused by warmer weather, experts warned against calling out a trend reversal.
In 2014, the government聽initiated a "Climate Action Programme"聽to step up efforts to cut emissions, but the additional policies are not effective enough to close the gap between forecast and the official targets, states the report.
The draft says the rising price of EU ETS CO2 emission allowances will likely translate into more emissions reductions than previously assumed. But it also stresses that efforts in the transport sector remain 鈥渇ar from adequate鈥� to contribute sufficiently to climate protection.
Coal commission enters decisive climate negotiations
In a bid to improve Germany's poor greenhouse gas reduction record and to identify economic prospects for people employed in the waning coal industry,聽the government has set up a commission聽tasked with planning the definite phase-out of coal-fired power production. Germany has rapidly increased its share of renewable energies, but coal remains the country鈥檚 single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Most experts agree that Germany鈥檚 only option to drastically cut its emissions in the short term is to shut down its dirtiest聽lignite-fired power plants.
Following the publication of聽a first interim report聽outlining a post-coal strategy for German mining regions, the coal commission will meet this week to 鈥溾�� climate and energy policy. This encompasses not only closing the 2020 gap, but also identifying measures to ensure that Germany meets its 2030 targets, and conceiving a plan to reduce and eventually end coal-fired power generation.
The environmental NGOs involved in the commission鈥檚 work聽have proposed to take around 16 gigawatts (GW) of coal power capacity off the grid by 2022, according to media reports. Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), and the umbrella organisation DNR argue in the leaked paper that 7.5 GW of聽lignite聽capacity should be transferred to Germany鈥檚 security standby聽reserve by 2020, and that 8.6 GW of old聽hard coal聽capacity should be retired by 2022. The proposal has聽led to 鈥渉arsh disputes鈥� within the task force, with industry representatives聽reportedly yelling聽at NGO members.
Germany鈥檚 climate efforts have received a mixed rating from Climate Transparency, an international partnership of climate research organisations and NGOs. Its 鈥淏rown to Green Report 2018鈥� criticises recent policy developments, such as the projection that聽Germany will likely miss its 2020 climate target, or the blocking by the government of more ambitious CO鈧� limits for cars at EU level, but positively assesses the launch of the聽coal exit commission. While Germany has among the highest building emissions per capita among G20 members, the country counterbalances this with 1.5掳C-compatible policies and is thus considered a 鈥渇rontrunner鈥� in this sector.
