New env min pledges Climate Protection Law/ Emissions stagnate in 2017

A growing population and the economic boom pushed up Germany’s total energy use by almost one percent last year, but the country’s CO2 emissions likely stagnated due to the rising share of renewables and an increase in gas use, according to energy market group AG Energiebilanzen (AGEB). Energy-related CO2 emissions “rose marginally at most,” according to AGEB’s press release. In its more detailed review of the past year, AGEB says emissions could have even decreased slightly “in a best case scenario.” The group had said in November that preliminary calculations suggested that emissions would “rise slightly” in 2017.

A strong rise in wind and solar power output pushed up renewable energy production by more than 6 percent, the AGEB calculations show. Gas consumption also rose by around 6 percent, because it was increasingly used for power generation. In contrast, hard coal use dropped by more than eleven percent, while lignite use decreased by a mere 0.6 percent.

Find the press release in German here.

For background, read the CLEW article Germany’s energy use and emissions likely to rise yet again in 2017.

Germany’s experiences with its energy transition have made the country a global leader in the shift from fossil fuels to renewables, but many of its neighbours are not satisfied with the way Europe’s biggest economy exercises this leadership, business weekly The Economist reports. Its reliance on natural gas as a substitute for coal and nuclear power – including the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline – and its poor coordination with surrounding states in launching its renewable energy policy are just two factors alienating Germany from its neighbours in terms of energy policy, the article says.

Find the article in English here.

See the CLEW dossier Germany’s energy transition in the European context for more information.

The debate over driving bans for diesel cars and the ongoing diesel emissions fraud scandal involving German carmakers have hit the technology’s image hard. Only 13 percent of respondents in a survey said they would now opt for a diesel car, Focus Online reports. In the survey commissioned by Targobank, 52 percent said they would buy a car with a petrol engine and 15 percent said they would buy a hybrid model, overtaking diesel for the first time, the article says. Only five percent said they would buy a fully electric car. Price and range continue to be the most important criteria for potential buyers, while sustainability ranks third, Focus Online says. Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they believed the dieselgate scandal primarily hurts ordinary customers and nearly as many rejected the idea of using tax money to retrofit manipulated diesel cars. One in two respondents said they believed diesel driving bans will ultimately be implemented but almost half also said they do not think this measure is appropriate.

Find the article in German here. 

See the CLEW dieselgate timeline and the Q&A on diesel driving bans for more information.

The state parliament in the northern German wind-power state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MWP) has proposed a real estate tax for renewable energy installations that should be introduced across the entire country, Frank Pubantz writes in the Ostsee Zeitung. “Municipalities could be compensated for the visual impact of wind turbines and other renewables on their land,” Pubantz writes, adding that industry representatives reject the measure. State parliamentarian Franz-Robert Liskow of the conservative CDU says MWP should endorse the tax in the federal economy minister conference and strive for a nationwide implementation “within three to four years.” The politician argues the already existing business tax on renewables would only pay off for municipalities after several years, whereas a real estate tax “benefits municipalities right after construction is finished.”