COP21 - Media on Germany and the Paris Climate Summit

Der Spiegel, 08 Dec

“Paris Climate Summit: Restrict!”

Writing in Der Spiegel, David Böcking says the threat of climate change requires less consumption - that we all fly less, use less heating and eat less meat. But politicians understandably won’t preach such a message or limit individual freedoms, which would be unpopular with voters. During the oil crisis in the 1970s, the German government restricted car use and today Germans are willing to undergo increased security checks because of the terrorist attacks in Paris. But climate change is seen as an abstract threat and easier to ignore. Some have argued that only authoritarian regimes have the power to stop climate change. Limiting our own consumption, Böcking therefore argues, is a defence of democracy.

See the article in German here.

Die Welt, 08 Dec

“Tricks, emotion and bitter truths”

In an interview with Die Welt, Jürgen Trittin, a former German environment minister and veteran of international climate negotiations, gives his view of the talks in Paris. Trittin told the paper Europe had lost its leading role in the negotiations to China and the US, who are now the key players. China is now investing more than in the development of renewables than the US and Europe combined, which Trittin said was itself a success of the German Enegiewende, which drastically brought down its cost. “It is a historic achievement that German electricity consumers gave the world,” he said.

Find the interview in German here (behind a paywall).

Frankfurter Rundschau, 08 Dec

“Guest of climate friends”

Writing in the Frankfurter Rundschau, Joachim Wille und Christian Mihatsch say that although Germany has no official role at the Paris Summit – because the EU negotiates as a single block – German officials have taken on important roles. State Secretary for the Environment Jochen Flasbarth has been mandated together with Gabon’s finance minister to find a solution on climate finance, while his boss, Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, is working with her Finish counterpart to represent the EU on differentiation. Their success will partly be down to perceptions of Germany in the negotiations, which the writers say have been boosted by the huge volumes of free coffee being distributed at the German pavilion. Everyone likes to come by for a “coffee with the Germans” the article says.

Handelsblatt, 07 Dec

“Still up in the air”

There are still many hurdles to an agreement in Paris and there is a real danger of disappointment, writes Klaus Stratmann in a commentary for business daily Handelsblatt. Negotiators have still not managed to establish a continuous process for readjusting climate pledges, there is still a gap of a few billion dollars in the Green Climate Fund, and it remains unclear whether a treaty will pass US domestic politics. “So it’s the same story as at every other climate summit: We will only know at the last second if the international community is serious about the fight against climate change.”

Der Spiegel, 07 Dec

"The Ex-Climate Chancellor"

Chancellor Angela Merkel's reputation as "climate chancellor" is being damaged internationally because of Germany's lack of success on cutting carbon emissions under her leadership, Horand Knaup and Gerald Traufetter write for the magazine Der Spiegel. While Merkel urges world leaders in Paris to work towards the decarbonisation of the global economy, Germany looks likely to miss its own 2020 reduction targets because Merkel’s government has been too lenient on industry players such as carmakers and the owners of coal-fired power plants, they write.

Read a factsheet on Germany’s climate goals here.

Find a CLEW factsheet on Angela Merkel's career as "climate chancellor" here.

Süddeutsche Zeitung, 07 Dec

"States are liable for their sins"

The insurance scheme against damages caused by climate change being planned at the Paris summit is an elegant solution and a big step for industrialised countries to address the issue of liability, writes Michael Bauchmüller in a commentary in Süddeutsche Zeitung. But he says the catch is climate change itself: “The larger the consequences, the more difficult they are to insure.” Bauchmüller writes that the commitment by G7 countries comes just at the right time, because “there will only be an agreement if both issues can be addressed: Help for the poorest and the battle against climate change.”

Read the article in German here.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 07 Dec

“A market for the climate”

It’s almost guaranteed there will be an agreement at the end of the Paris summit, including a commitment to "decarbonisation" or "climate neutrality", but the crucial question is whether it will provide detailed and binding guidelines on how to get there, writes Andreas Mihm in a commentary for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He says emission trading systems like the EU’s should be developed and extended. The topic will not feature in an agreement, but it would be sufficient if China and Germany pushed emissions trading during their upcoming G20 presidencies, according to Mihm. “Merkel should make the overdue step to include further sectors in the trading system. It’s not enough if energy and industry get a CO2 price tag, but transport, agriculture and real estate don’t.”
Mihm also says it is deplorable that the government missed the opportunity in Paris to stress that enormous advance payments by German consumers gave the world affordable wind and solar technologies.

New York Times, 04 Dec

“Germany may offer model for reining in fossil fuel use”

Germany’s Energiewende could offer other countries ideas for fulfilling their climate protection pledges after the COP21 climate summit, currently underway in Paris, writes Melissa Eddy in The New York Times. Germany “has claimed some success in diversifying its energy sources and balancing economic growth with environmental concerns,” the newspaper says. The feature goes on to describe how Germany has expanded renewable energy and some of the obstacles it still faces in the project.

Read the article in English here.

Süddeutsche Zeitung, 03 Dec

“Exit the climate trap”

The RWE split is good news for the Paris Climate Summit, argues Michael Bauchmüller in Süddeutsche Zeitung. “The company is initiating the liquidation of its lignite business. This is the meaning of the announcement that the new renewables subsidiary is to get money from financial markets, but not the old business,” writes Bauchmüller. “Lignite is being phased out, pulverised between climate protection and green power.” He laments that this is not the case beyond Europe, as there are plans to build 2,000 additional coal-fired plants around the globe. Only a price on carbon will stop these plans turning into reality, Bauchmüller argues. “This will artificially increase the price of coal. That is the language that investors understand. The world over.”

Der Tagesspiegel. 03 Dec

“Ambition grows on the way”

International climate policy slowly makes the transition from knowledge to action, writes Dagmar Dehmer in a commentary in Tagesspiegel. “But even if the way is obvious: The fight between the old economy, which destroys the climate, and the new, which can stabilise it, is not yet decided.” She says World Climate Summits are, above all, world economic forums. “Every country attempts to preserve its old and well-tried business model for as long as possible.” Still, Paris might be a unique opportunity because of the large amount of goodwill present. “The chances to establish a self-learning agreement are good. If the architecture is right, ambition can continue to grow.”

Bloomberg, 01 Dec

“On clean energy, the wind blows from Germany”

Germany's ambitious, painful and expensive Energiewende has helped spur the development of technology that may soon work for others without massive subsidies, writes Leonid Bershidsky in a column for Bloomberg. Despite problems, “it’s clear now that the program has been a success and that as long as there is a well-defined goal and a determined effort to reach it, the necessary technology will present itself," writes Bershidsky. "The most heated arguments at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris, which got under way on Monday, will be about how to split the cost of reducing emissions among richer and poorer countries. Germans have already answered the question by unilaterally shouldering the energy transition burden.”

Read the column in English here.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 01 Dec

“Merkel’s heartfelt wish”

German environmentalists may criticise Merkel, saying she could move further and faster to decarbonise the economy, writes Andreas Mihm in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.  But off the record, many do value her long-standing engagement for climate protection. “Merkel, as a  measured policy manager, needs to weigh up what is politically realistic against what is desirable for climate policy,” writes Mihm.

Die Welt, 01 Dec

“Only the market economy can stop climate change”

The UN's climate conference in Paris is being staged as if it were humanity’s fateful hour, but that is exaggerated and diplomatically inept, writes Daniel Wetzel in a commentary in Die Welt. COP21 is “not the huge, decisive final summit of international climate diplomacy. Paris will not decide about apocalypse or saving the planet, nor is it a new era of world history. Paris is only a stepping stone,” he says. Wetzel writes that existing climate diplomacy cannot stop climate change, which would be more easily abolished by market forces. “The solution to the climate problem might be to extend trading of emissions certificates to the entire globe if possible. This would reduce the role of politics to distributing a sufficiently scarce number of tradeable permits.” After that, everything else could be left to market forces, argues Wetzel.

Read the commentary in German here.

The Economist, 30 Nov

Germany's "unusually big mistakes"

Germany has become a world leader in green power, but also serves as a warning about what can go wrong, writes Joel Budd in an Economist Special Report on climate change. “Germany has made unusually big mistakes. Handing out enormous long-term subsidies to solar farms was unwise; abolishing nuclear power so quickly is crazy,” argues Budd. He says the country’s biggest error was “to ignore the fact that wind and solar power impose costs on the entire energy system, which go up more than proportionately” as more are added, writes Budd.

Read the article in English here.

Süddeutsche Zeitung, 30 Nov

“Why this climate summit could become a success”

There are two main reasons the Paris climate summit has higher chances of success than the meeting in Copenhagen, writes Michael Bauchmüller in a commentary for Süddeutsche Zeitung. “Firstly, many states do no longer perceive an exit from coal, oil and gas as a necessary good-bye to growth and prosperity… Secondly, for the first time, all states are prepared to do something against global warming.” But there is one catch, because the agreement in sight is voluntary. So if things are really going well in Paris, we might see a deal to monitor progress every few years, writes Bauchmüller.

Read the editorial in German here.

General-Anzeiger, 30 Nov

“The ultimatum”

The Paris summit is meant to secure livelihoods for a humanity that is approaching eight billion members but, surprisingly, the media and general public are only interested in it in passing, writes Wolfgang Wiedlich in a commentary in General Anzeiger. He laments that nobody has told society clearly what “decarbonisation” by 2050 would mean in reality. “If Paris would be really successful, the people would be astonished. To save the climate, more is needed than energy-saving lightbulbs and abstinence from strawberries in December.”

Find the commentary in German here.

UN Climate Change Secretariat / NGOs, 30 Oct

“Global response to climate change keeps door open to 2 degree C temperature limit”

A report assessing the 140 climate action plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of the Paris summit shows that combined effort can help curb damaging greenhouse gases, the UN says in a press release. The combined impact of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) “will lead to a fall in per capita emissions over the coming 15 years”, the report finds. Furthermore, emissions will fall by as much as 8 percent in 2025 and 9 percent in 2030, and are capable of limiting the forecast temperature to a rise of around 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Although this does not meet the 2-degree limit scientists recommend, it is lower than the 4-5 degree Celsius rise many had previously predicted, says UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. Germany’s environment state secretary Jochen Flasbarth said that the long term goal had to be decarbonisation by the end of the century.

Separately, NGOs Germanwatch and Bread for the World jointly commented on the findings. They said that the direction was good but insisted that more effort was needed. “On the one hand, the Paris climate has achieved something significant: the self-established goals of around 150 countries are on the table. On the other hand, it is clear that these contributions are not enough to prevent dangerous climate change,” said Sönke Kreft, team leader of international climate policy at Germanwatch. Read more >

WWF Germany said that a mechanism which forces individual states to reduce emissions every five years would have to be decided in Paris. “It’s necessary that fossil energies like coal, oil and gas will be phased-out faster and in a more sustainable way than currently envisaged in Paris,” Regine Günther, WWF head of climate and energy policy, said. Read more>

Read the UNFCCC press release in English here.

Read the full UNFCCC report here.

WirtschaftsWoche, 23 Oct

“Climate summit in Paris will not result in joint obligations”

The history of climate negotiations shows that handing in climate action plans is one thing - but abiding by them is a different story, German economist Axel Ockenfels, from the University of Cologne, told the WirtschaftsWoche. “Paris won’t slow down climate change considerably and it won’t result in a joint obligation,” he said. Ockenfels suggests that states should negotiate about a global price on CO2 emissions. Such a price would disadvantage no one and governments could invest the generated revenue in lowering other costs.

Read the article in German here.

 SWR2, 23 Oct

“Hendricks: ‘Bring on Paris’”

The climate agreement of Paris will not be the finishing point, Germany’s Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks told SWR2 in an interview. But it was important that some decisions in it are binding, such as the 2°C warming limit for the end of the century and how CO2 emissions are measured, she said. Every country also had to become more and more ambitious in their climate targets, she added.

Listen to the interview in German here.

Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, 23 Oct

“National contributions provide entry point for the low-carbon transformation”

Commitments to reduce emissions so far submitted by countries ahead of COP21 fall short of keeping global warming below 2°C, according to a report published by a consortium of 14 research institutes, including the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research (PIK). But they do “imply an unprecedented acceleration and consolidation of action against climate change in major economies around the world” and “can serve as an entry point for the deep low-carbon transformation”. PIK said the success of the agreement would depend on a mechanism to strengthen commitments by 2020.

See the press release in English here.

Handelsblatt, 21 Oct

“Grown up climate politics”

We are seeing a paradigm shift in climate negotiations 23 years after the UN framework convention on climate change was adopted, writes Oliver Geden, researcher at the Stiftung Wissenschaft and Politik (SWP) in a guest article for the Handelsblatt. The focus has moved from “rescuing the world climate” to negotiating politically and economically viable measures, he says. The new priority is to integrate all states into a climate treaty, rather than to come up with the most ambitious treaty that insists on emission reductions to ensure the 2°C warming limit. Because with the latter, Europeans would end up alone - just as they did with the Kyoto-protocol.

Süddeutsche Zeitung, 19 Oct

“Cursed oil”

As a last preparatory meeting ahead of the global climate summit in Paris gets underway in Bonn this week, environmental activists fear that cheap oil could limit the pressure on negotiators to agree on ambitious climate targets, writes Michael Bauchmüller in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. A low oil price could mean increased use of fuel in the transport sector and less incentive to increase energy efficiency in the building sector. But so far, at least in Germany, oil consumption for transport and heating is falling despite the low price, and home insulation schemes have experienced only a slight loss of interest, Bauchmüller writes.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14 Oct

“Oil’s closing sale”

The global movement to divest from fossil fuels has gathered rapid support this year and has turned “peak oil” arguments upside-down, writes Marcus Theurer in a commentary for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.  “The closing sale might start long before the age of oil comes to an end," because oil-producing countries might step up production for fear the market could disappear altogether. “The climate debate will radically alter the rules of the oil industry and question companies’ business models,” writes Theurer. He says this will not happen from one day to the next, but it won’t take as long as oil managers claim.

Handelsblatt, 13 Oct

“In a trap”

The vision of a global agreement to limit CO2 emissions at the UN Paris Climate Summit (COP21) is threatened by continued subsidies for fossil-based energy sources, writes Klaus Stratmann in a commentary in the Handelsblatt. “The failure of the international community to act is dangerously intersected with a wave of investments in climate-damaging coal power plants, especially in energy hungry emerging countries,” he says. These countries are subsidising coal, gas and above all oil with hundreds of billions of dollars, he says, and little has changed in this area in the last five or ten years.  Even worse, he points out, is that very little of this money trickles down to needy citizens of those countries. “Thus subsidies for fossil energy sources burden the CO2 accounts and above all the budgets of these countries,” he says. “It would be better to invest this money in climate-friendly technology.”

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 Oct

“EU says goodbye to binding climate goals”

According to a ten-page paper obtained by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the European Union is abandoning its plans for setting long-term climate goals for expanding renewable energy shares in the power mix and increasing energy efficiency. Concrete steps, such as how countries will increase the share of wind and solar energy by 2030, should be taken in national action plans, the newspaper writes. These plans can be adjusted at any time, however, if national conditions change, according to the paper. Germany had wanted to achieve binding targets for these currently unbinding goals, the newspaper says, but this was a step too far for many – besides Eastern European countries, also France and the UK were against this idea, the FAZ cites diplomatic sources as saying. In autumn 2014, heads of government agreed to raise the share of renewables to 27% of consumption and to increase energy efficiency by 27%, the FAZ says

Read a CLEW factsheet about Germany's emissions targets here.

Handelsblatt, 13 Oct

“The principle of the alms bowl”

In an interview with the Handelsblatt, Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, says asking countries to contribute what they can to reducing CO2 emissions is like begging for money.  This is “the principle of the alms bowl,” he says, adding that  an agreement to keep the world from warming by more than 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century is unlikely at the summit.  Despite the fact that most countries recognise the necessity to do so, they do not see the necessity for global cooperation, he says.  The summit could have some successes, however, he says. For example, if countries manage to find a way to put a price on CO2. “Until now, one tonne of CO2 is being subsidised on average with 150 dollars. It’s no wonder that many countries are still depending on coal,” he says. Europe could start with its emissions trading scheme, which needs reform, he says. “In order for there to be an effect, we need a minimum price for CO2; 20 euros and upwards is imaginable. But the market stability reserve that the EU has agreed to is not helpful,” he says.  “It is unrealistic to expect that CO2 emissions will fall without a reasonable price.”

Read the interview in German (behind a paywall) here.

Frankfurter Rundschau, 08 Oct

“An ambitious climate programme for India”

Germany has agreed to finance India’s roll out of solar energy with two billion euros and the subcontinent has finally made its climate targets public, writes Brigitte Knopf, secretary general of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, in an opinion piece in the Frankfurter Rundschau. “The fact that countries like India, who justly perceived themselves not as part of the problem, now want to become part of a solution, inspires hope that the international climate negotiations in Paris can be a success,” writes Knopf. But even if the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) become reality, the world would still be on track to a warming of 2.7 degrees celsius; and at present, 3.6 degrees seem more likely. To avoid this fate, CO2 heavyweights like India need an ambitious climate programme and not just good intentions, writes Knopf. “The INDCs must not become empty promises. Compliance with voluntary announcements to cut CO2 must be verified…these rules for transparency must become part of an agreement in Paris.” 

klimaretter.info, 01. Oct

“The world on a 3.5-degree path”

October 1 is the deadline for countries to hand in their climate protection goals to the UN climate secretary in Bonn, and few have come up with plans that will keep the earth’s temperature from rising by more than 2 degrees celsius this century, reports Benjamin von Brackel in Klimaretter.info.  The goals are the basis for the UN Climate Summit in December, when countries will commit themselves to keeping emissions below certain levels. Climate analysts from Climate Interactive in Washington, DC, calculate on the basis of 72 countries’ current pledges that temperatures will rise by 3.5 degrees, the author says. Of the major polluters, only India has not yet turned in its plans, insisting that industrial countries first have to cut their greenhouse gases and the emerging countries must focus on eradicating poverty, the author writes. However, India still plans to turn in a plan, but one day after the deadline. The question then is whether the targets are enough to keep global warming down to 2 degrees celsius in order to keep the climate system stable.

Read the article in German here.

Handelsblatt, 01 Oct

“Climate protection poses problems for industry”

German and Austrian energy intensive companies are worried about the negative effects of more stringent climate protection rules, which could threaten their businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to a study by the Handelsblatt Research Institute, writes Martin Wocher in the Handelsblatt. Even though no such shutdowns or shifting of operations abroad have occurred yet, this could happen gradually, the institute concludes. Under particular threat is the steel industry, in light of EU plans to remove 1.5 billion CO2 certificates from the market as of 2019. Companies think this could cause the price to rise sharply to around €30 per tonne of CO2 from €7 now, according to the article. Because of exemptions or excess certificates on the market, companies have until now paid little or nothing for the right to pollute, according to the article. This could change dramatically, bringing costs of a billion euros a year for steel companies in Germany alone, the article says.

Read a dossier on competitiveness and the Energiewende here.

Handelsblatt, 01 Oct

“We need to accept the obstacles”

Germany’s environment minister Barbara Hendricks is very confident that governments will agree to a way of limiting greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global warming under 2°C at the UN conference in Paris, she said during an interview with Handelsblatt. This is even if not all countries would sign a legally-binding climate treaty. Another central target of the negotiations was to agree on binding measuring and monitoring methods, Hendricks said. And it would be very important for a successful outcome in Paris that industrial nations kept their promises to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

Read the interview in German (behind pay wall) here.

Süddeutsche Zeitung, 28 Sept

“And they are moving after all”

War, terror, climate change – for a long time it looked as if the United Nations was getting nowhere, writes Stefan Ulrich in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. But as China announces an ambitious environment programme, including an emissions trading scheme, things might be moving after all, he says. China’s president Xi Jinping has apparently stopped depicting China as a developing country in order to block climate action. In addition, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Pope are calling on the heads of states and governments to commit to climate action ahead of Paris, Ulrich writes.

Tagesspiegel, 28 Sept

“United for a better world”

Chancellor Angela Merkel was probably watched even more closely than the Pope at the UN sustainability conference in New York, write Dagmar Dehmer and Barbara Junge in the Tagesspiegel. The spotlight was on her not only because of VW but also because of the energy transition, which is followed closely around the world, sometimes with enthusiasm, sometimes with “blistering rejection”. Merkel promised to increase Germany’s development budget to 0.7 percent of the GDP and reminded industrialised nations about their promise to pay 100 billion dollars into a green climate fund. However, her remarks about who will contribute this money remained vague, as she spoke about a joint responsibility of private and state funding, the authors say.

Read the article in German here.

International New York Times, 25 Sept

“Germans take a tumble from moral high ground”

“Volkswagen’s deception raises doubt in a nation known for following rules,” writes Alison Smale in the International New York Times. It also puts the nation in “an awkward spot” ahead of the UN climate change summit in Paris in December, where Germany would be held up as a model for how an industrial nation can replace fossil fuels largely with renewables, the author says.

Bloomberg, 24 Sept

“Merkel’s climate crusading risks being blemished by VW scandal”

The Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal could sully Germany’s reputation as a model for climate protection, just as Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to New York this weekend to push for environmental responsibility, writes Patrick Donahue for BloombergBusiness. Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisberg-Essen, says Merkel’s government has not done enough to push the powerful automotive industry to greener technology like electric cars, according to the article.

Read the BloombergBusiness article in English here.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 21 Sept

“Worried about the climate”

The very hot and dry summer of 2015 was a sign of climate change, 46 percent of Germans believe. In contrast, 40 percent told pollster Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach that they believe the high temperatures were a normal weather phenomenon.