Must lay groundwork for climate neutrality 2050 now – German Energy Agency

Germany must prepare different pathways on how to reach climate neutrality by 2050 now and be ready to adapt when new developments arise, said German Energy Agency (dena) head Andreas Kuhlmann at a press briefing in Berlin. “The 20s will change the world. We have to lay the groundwork for the pathways to climate neutrality 2050,” said Kuhlmann at the presentation of an interim report on the agency’s climate neutrality 2050 report. The final version will be presented in October this year. Alternative pathways have to be ready, as there are always going to be situations where social, economic, technological or planning reasons cause delays, he added. Dena did not present concrete interim data from the report.

The organisation LobbyControl criticised that businesses and industry associations put up a majority of the financing for the report, and called into question its scientific neutrality. Energy businesses like RWE and 50Hertz, but also industry players such as steelmaker Thyssenkrupp, are among the so-called “project partners”. Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that financing from businesses is not uncommon and reported that large companies and associations have contributed 35,000 euros each, and smaller companies 20,000 euros. “As dena, we stand for ensuring that this is not influenced in the wrong direction,” said Kuhlmann, and argued that a wide inclusion of stakeholders is beneficial to the outcome. He highlighted that an advisory council and several scientific institutions are involved in putting together the report.

Germany and the EU aim to become climate neutral by 2050 to help reach the Paris Agreement target of limiting global temperature rise to 2°C, and possibly 1.5°C. This means that all sectors must undergo massive changes. Dena made clear that renewable energies play a key role in reaching the goal.