New economy minister Zypries assures renewables industry of progressive Energiewende legislation

Brigitte Zypries, Germany’s new economy minister, has assured the country’s renewables industry of pursuing a progressive policy approach to advance the energy transition. At a conference by the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) she pledged to adopt legislation on tenant power support before the end of the current legislative period. This would, for example, allow residents of apartment buildings to use electricity generated by solar PV panels on their roofs.  Zypries also said that the contested state support for fossil heating systems would come to an end, paving the way for increased sector coupling and a higher share of renewable power in the heating sector. In one of her first public appearances after taking office, Zypries called Germany’s Energiewende a general success but said it needed further efforts to expand to the European level and allow for sustained competitiveness of the German industry. She said a pressing domestic issue was to ensure that the major high-voltage transmission lines traversing Germany from north to south were completed “by 2025”. Internationally, Germany had to make sure its national Climate Action Plan was closely coordinated with neighbouring countries’ policies.
At the same conference, representatives of three parties in the Bundestag discussed options for advancing Germany’s emissions reduction performance. Robert Habeck, of the Green Party, supported introducing a CO₂-price tag and a reduction of the electricity tax. He said if the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) continued to fail to deliver satisfactory results, “we have to introduce a national CO₂-price in order to further sectoral transformation”. He was seconded by the Left Party’s Caren Lay. Thomas Bareiß, of the governing CDU, warned a national carbon price could decisively damage the ETS, which he said was “overall suitable for lowering emissions if there are no loopholes.”

For background, see the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and climate change.