Government needs to rethink its energy and climate policy – joint commentary

Radical changes in global energy supply require a “change of historical dimensions” in Germany’s climate and energy policy, comparable to the social welfare policies of Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of the German Empire between 1871 and 1890, write Patrick Graichen, head of the Agora Energiewende* think tank, and Stefan Kapferer, head of the energy industry association BDEW, in a joint guest commentary in Handelsblatt. By the end of 2018, decision makers from all sectors must obtain reliable information on the government’s plans “to develop business models, make investments, and drive innovation,” they write. “If done correctly, the energy transition will become a major modernisation and investment programme […] for us and for the future generations.”

Find the guest commentary in German here.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.