Ten million tonnes more CO2 / Energiewende 'no election campaign hit'
Green Budget Germany / Frankfurter Rundschau
鈥淭en million tonnes more CO2鈥�
骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions increased again in 2015, compared to 2014, researchers from Green Budget Germany (贵脰厂) say. Emissions increased by 1.1 percent or 10 million tonnes to a total of 912 million tonnes in 2015, according to their estimates. The main reasons were an increase in energy consumption due to higher heat demand, the use of more lignite in the power sector, and an increase in the use of diesel and heating oil, the researchers write in the study commissioned by the Green Part parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Germany has achieved a 27 percent emissions reduction compared to 1990 but is not on track to achieving a reduction of another 13 percentage points by 2020 in order to reach its 2020 -40 percent CO2 climate target, the researchers say.
Read the study in German .
Find a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on Germany's climate targets here.
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
鈥淭he balancing act between people鈥檚 and minority party鈥�
The election results of the Green Party 鈥� the most prominent advocate of the energy transition 鈥� in the three states of Baden-W眉rttemberg, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate are a mixed bag, writes Johannes Leith盲user in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The success of incumbent Green state premier Winfried Kretschmann in Baden-W眉rttemberg has long been explained by special effects like the nuclear catastrophe of Fukushima, and Kretschmann's middle-class image, he says.
After these elections, votes from Green state government representatives will still be needed for lawmakers to achieve a majority in the Bundesrat (upper house / state chamber on federal level).
Find a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 federalism and the Energiewende here.
Read a 威力彩玩法 article on the role of the elections for energy policy here.
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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung / Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
鈥淲ithout Kretschmann, the Greens are weak鈥�
The Green party celebrated a historic victory in Baden-W眉rttemberg by becoming the largest party in the regional parliament, but they lost many votes in Rhineland Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt, writes Robert Probst in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. The Greens鈥� commitment to the Energiewende in Rhineland Palatinate was 鈥渙bviously not an election campaign hit,鈥� according to Probst.
In a commentary in the Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung, Daniel Deckers writes that the Greens鈥� 鈥渄isastrous results鈥� in Rhineland Palatinate show what can happen if the party sticks to maximum demands on issues such as the Energiewende, instead of placing its bets with particular candidates.
Read the analysis in the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung in German . 听听
Find the commentary in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in German .
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taz.de
鈥淔resh breeze and old coal鈥�
The Green government in Baden-W眉rttemberg has made itself felt in the region鈥檚 record expansion of wind capacity last year, but the regional government is likely to miss its goal of increasing the share of wind power in electricity to at least ten percent by 2020, writes Bernward Janzing in the taz. The Energiewende in general is making only slow progress in the state: 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 听renewables share rose ten percentage points in the last five years, but Baden-W眉rttemberg only managed an increase of five percentage points, writes Janzing.
Read the article in German .
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Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Key points on regional green power labelling
The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) has presented a reform proposal on the so called 鈥渞egional green power labelling", envisaged as part of the overall reform of the Renewable Energy Act in summer 2016. The idea is to enable power suppliers to tell their customers which regional renewables installations supply their electricity, if they wish to do so. This would benefit the social acceptance of renewable energy. 鈥淭his is important for the further expansion path of renewables and for sufficient competition in the coming auctions,鈥� said BMWi state secretary Rainer Baake according to a press release.
Read the press release and download the key points in German .
For an overview of the election results in English see .
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NDR Info
No deal with nuclear power plant operators
The government won鈥檛 offer a deal to nuclear power plant operators before the听Constitutional Court听hears the operators' case against the 2011 nuclear phase-out on Tuesday, 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 environment minister Barbara Hendricks said in an interview on NDR Info radio. She was confident that the court would follow the government鈥檚 view that the decision was constitutional.
Listen to the interview in German .
Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet about the legal problems of the nuclear phase-out here.
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rbb
鈥淔oundation for Lusatian lignite under discussion鈥�
Because Vattenfall has not received any bids for its German lignite operations it deems acceptable, placing the assets in a foundation is under consideration, according to a report by regional broadcaster rbb. Politicitians are sympathetic to this idea, but the details are still unclear, including whether the Swedish company would agree, says the report. A foundation would mean a buyer would not be liable for the lignite operations, according to the report.
Business daily Handelsblatt had reported that insiders considered the lignite mining and power plant operations 鈥渨orthless鈥� given current market conditions.听
Find the report in German
Read a 威力彩玩法 factsheet on the Vattenfall coal exit here.
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Tagesspiegel
鈥淐reative Destruction鈥�
Until 2011, the Energiewende was 鈥渁 kind of guerrilla battle against old structures,鈥� writes Dagmar Dehmer in a commentary in Tagesspiegel on the state of the energy transition five years after Fukushima. When the first nuclear exit and the renewable energy act were agreed in 2000, those involved had probably no idea of the creative destruction this would bring, culminating in the split of major utilities E.ON and RWE. In coming years, the electrification of heat and transport will be required, according to Dehmer. 鈥淔ive years after Fukushima, the German Energiewende has reached a point where it no longer affects just a few parts of the economy. Now, the climate-friendly total conversion will begin. There will be many winners, but also some losers.鈥�
Read the commentary in German .
Find the 威力彩玩法 overview on Fukushima鈥檚 impact on Germany here.
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German Biomass research centre (DBFZ)
鈥淏iogas repowered鈥�
The Energiewende requires a repowering of existing biomass facilities, according to the German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ). One in five facilities is older than ten years, and these aren't able to provide the necessary flexibility in power generation, according to a survey of more than 1,800 plants, out of 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 total of around 8,000 facilities. Today, a broad array of technologies is available to significantly increase the efficiency of the plants. 鈥淭he results show that there is a big potential for repowering, and therefore also for a better integration into a renewable energy system.鈥�
Find the press release in German . 听
