“The Franco-German energy transition alliance”

France and Germany should work together on some challenges on the way to a clean energy future - despite differences in the two countries’ energy mixes, write German think tanks Agora Energiewende, Agora Verkehrswende* and French Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) in a joint paper, seen by Clean Energy Wire. They call for a joint strategic vision on the energy transition, a joint initiative on carbon pricing, and the coordinated development of renewable energies, among other things. Both countries’ power systems are largely rooted in baseload power plants, their transport systems rely heavily on oil, decisions taken in one country “invariably have repercussions for the other”, their position in the centre of Europe would make them a driving force for energy transitions all across the continent, and a reform of EU institutions to better address climate change challenges depends on France and Germany as the “driving motors of European integration”, write the authors.

Find a press release in German here and the paper in German here.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende and Agora Verkehrswende are projects funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.