Voters in the EU will head to the polls on 6-9 June 2024 to elect the next European Parliament and help shape the union’s climate policy for the next five years. The months building up to the vote provide many opportunities for journalists to cover European energy and climate issues, and the election itself kicks off the long process of picking the union’s new leadership that will decide climate policy until the end of the decade. This factsheet explains the role of energy and climate in the EU election year, highlights key moments journalists should have an eye on, and provides expert contacts and resources. [UPDATE adds number of people eligible to vote]

The European Union announced itself as a potential early climate champion in 2018 by pledging to reach climate-neutrality by 2050. Yet, rules and regulations are needed to bring emissions down sufficiently to make ‘climate neutrality’ a feasible reality. A lot of work has been done but much is still on the agenda. Politics clashes with policy, continuing to influence what degree of legislative ambition can be pursued. [UPDATES to Feb '25]

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Europe is complicated and even journalists from EU member states sometimes struggle to understand how climate and energy policy is made, and when institutions take key decisions. This timeline flags key European energy and climate reporting events and developments and includes concise background information necessary to jump-start your coverage.

Tagesspiegel / Focus Online / T-Online

Following weeks of disruptive street blockades, German farmers have threatened to ramp up protests against the planned cuts to agricultural diesel subsidies. The president of the German Farmers' Association (DBV), Joachim Rukwied, called the protests to date "foreshocks," reports newspaper Tagesspiegel. "If nothing changes now, there may be an eruption," Rukwied warned, adding protests would be "more far-reaching" than before and take place all over Germany. Rukwied is set to meet chancellor Olaf Scholz next week Monday (22 January), when the German leader visits the food and agriculture trade fair Grüne Woche in Berlin. T-Online reported that farmers protested at the venue already today. Trucking companies said they are also planning protests against government policies. “We will definitely do something,” said the head of logistics association BGL, Dirk Engelhardt, according to a Focus Online report. The trucking industry says it is being squeezed by higher road tolls and an increase in Germany’s national CO₂ price for transport and buildings, while the government planned to cut subsidies for electric trucks. 

Protesting farmers have caused major traffic disruption across Germany over the last couple of weeks in reaction to subsidy cuts by the government which will force agricultural companies to pay more for diesel fuel. Thousands of farming company employees blocked roads and motorways with tractors and other agricultural equipment, demanding that the subsidies are fully reinstated. The cuts were caused by a last-minute budget reshuffling after a court ruling reduced funds for climate and transformation projects by 60 billion euros. Following the protests, the government agreed to roll back some of the enforced measures and delay others. Agricultural vehicle tax breaks will not be slashed, while diesel tax breaks for farmers will be abolished only gradually, starting this year. But the farmers say the concessions don’t go far enough.

Clean Energy Wire

Prolonged drought and more frequent heavy rainfall as a result of climate change will have a significant impact on groundwater levels in central Germany, found a report by the Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN). The findings indicate that extended dry periods and extreme precipitation will result in longer periods of low groundwater levels in summer and autumn, and higher levels in winter and spring. "Human influences on groundwater levels, such as an increased demand for water withdrawals for drinking water supply or agricultural field irrigation, can further amplify these changes," said Uwe Petry, coordinator of the project. However, these effects have not yet been taken into account in the existing models, he warned.

Over the last two decades, groundwater levels in the region have already been on a clear downward trend, with a spell of particularly dry years since 2018 resulting in the sharpest drops in many areas since records began. Regional environment minister, Christian Meyer, said climate change had turned water into a valuable resource that required careful handling. “In order to counter the effects of climate change, we need sustainable water management that is coordinated between all stakeholders.”

With summer temperatures increasing and groundwater levels decreasing, Lower Saxony and other federal states already took action last year by restricting water use. Germany’s national water strategy and natural climate protection action programme are also designed to advance the country’s adaptation efforts.

Clean Energy Wire

Germany’s boom in stationary batteries linked to solar PV systems accelerated last year, doubling the total number of units to more than one million, reports solar industry association BSW. The batteries have a combined capacity of 12 gigawatt-hours - enough to power 1.5 million 2-person households for a day. “The expansion of solar electricity storage systems has picked up speed rapidly. Both the total number of solar batteries installed and their storage capacity have doubled in just one year,” said the lobby group. "When installing new solar power systems on private buildings, electricity storage systems are now standard. More and more companies are also storing solar power from their roofs to use it around the clock," said the association’s director, Carsten Körnig. He added that the market for home and commercial storage systems grew by over 150 per cent in 2023.

The industry group lamented that current policies still underestimate the potential of battery storage systems, and that market barriers continue to slow their spread. Against this backdrop, BSW welcomed the economy and climate ministry’s proposals for a storage strategy published in December, but said the draft didn’t address central strategic questions regarding the role of batteries in tomorrow’s electricity system. Storage systems should be considered a central pillar of the electricity system, on par with generation, grid, and consumption, the industry association said.

Storage will become key in the next phase of the energy transition, as Germany aims to cover 80 percent of power demand with renewable sources by 2030. A traditional electricity system doesn’t require much storage because power generation can be adjusted to match demand. This changes dramatically as the system uses more renewable energy, as power generation from wind turbines and solar PV systems depends on the weather. This means that production often dramatically exceeds demand but also that current power production can fall well short of what is needed at a given moment. 

Zeit Online

The German government has said that the allocation of so-called 'climate bonus' (Klimageld) to citizens to help alleviate high CO2 costs must start at the latest when the new EU emissions trading system for transport and buildings (ETS II) becomes operational in 2027 and is expected to bring higher carbon prices, Zeit Online reports. This could leave the matter to the country’s next government after the elections scheduled for 2025. "We definitely want and need to get the climate bonus off the ground when European emissions trading enters its second stage from 2027," a government spokeman said.

The government in its coalition treaty agreed to "develop a compensation mechanism" called Klimageld to compensate for rising carbon prices. The two main issues are setting up a mechanism to distribute the money, and making sure that the CO2 price revenues are actually available and not used for other climate measures. Developing a mechanism turned out to be more complicated than originally assumed, the finance ministry said, as there is no existing programme or database which has bank account information for all citizens. This information must be drawn from different sources, said the ministry. In addition, the current budget crisis triggered by a recent constitutional court ruling that upended Germany’s climate policy means that funds are even harder to come by. That is the key reason why the government increased the national CO2 price for transport and heating fuels from 30 to 45 euros per tonne at the start of the year. This hike in CO2 costs reinforced the discussion about compensating low-income citizens for rising costs due to measures implemented to protect the climate.

Government spokespeople also pointed out that there had already been significant compensation for the sharp rise in energy prices, such as the cancelation of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) surcharge on electricity as well as gas and electricity price caps. Social Democratic Party (SPD) general secretary Kevin Kühnert called for an alternative social compensation for higher CO₂ prices, such as tax discounts, a long-distance commuter allowance or other measures. The government’s explanation follows statements made over the weekend by finance minister Christian Lindner, head of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), who said the per capita climate bonus would not be technically feasible before 2025, and the next government would decide about actual payments.

Clean Energy Wire

Onshore wind power was significantly expanded in Germany last year, when 745 new turbines with a capacity of more than 3.5 gigawatts (GW) were built across the country. “The buildout is gaining signification traction now,” the German Wind Energy Federation (BWE) said at the release of its 2023 expansion report. Almost 50 percent more turbines were installed than during the previous year, bringing the country’s total onshore wind power capacity to 61 GW. With about 7.5 GW in newly licensed capacity, the expansion appears to be on a solid footing for the foreseeable future. However, while auctioned volumes almost doubled in 2023 compared to the previous year, they still fell short of the earmarked auction volume of nearly 13 GW, the BWE said in a joint statement with engineering federation VDMA. About 4 GW could be expected in new turbine capacity in 2024, the groups said, adding that “only if policymakers stick to their reforms can the political goals be reached.” A lot still had to be done in securing construction areas, speeding up licensing procedures and facilitating the transport of turbine components. “There needs to be a legal framework that remains in place long term, also beyond the current legislative period” and in coordination between the federal government and the states, BWE head Bärbel Heidebroek said. “Only then can the wind industry unlock its full potential for becoming a sector that drives the economy forward,” she argued.

The associations urged the government to intensify its efforts to strengthen renewable energy industries across Europe to prepare the region for an “unequal competition” on global markets. Companies in Germany and Europe are facing largely state-supported companies from China and generously subsidised ones from the U.S. through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), VDMA head Dennis Rendschmidt said. “There has to be a level playing field to succeed in this environment. A basic requirement for this is a European framework that consolidates demand, creates fair competition within Europe (…) and strengthens the scale-up of production,” Rendschmidt argued.  The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) expects a worldwide addition of 105 GW onshore turbine capacity this year and 465 GW of new capacity until 2027, with more than half (241 GW) added in China, followed by Europe (87 GW) and the U.S. (50 GW).