Coal task force complete - report / Daimler e-cars in trouble?

The planned commission that will prepare the end of coal-fired power production in Germany does not include enough representatives from eastern Germany, the Left Party was quoted as saying in an article written by the news agency dpa and carried by the Berliner Morgenpost. “It doesn’t help if the energy transition and the coal exit are perceived as imposed decisions in the eastern German regions,” said the party’s energy policy spokesman, Lorenz Gösta Beutin. Difficult political decisions like those facing the eastern coal region of Lusatia “need to give special attention to the eastern German concerns and interests, which is best done by people who have experienced the German reunification” and the upheavals it caused in the east, he said. Two of the commission’s leaders - former Saxony state premier Stanislaw Tillich, a conservative, and former Brandenburg state premier Matthias Platzeck, a social democrat - are from eastern Germany, but the region is underrepresented in the rest of the commission, the article says.

Read the article in German here.

See the CLEW factsheets on Coal in Germany and on Germany’s coal exit commission for background.

The northern German city of Hamburg has begun to enforce the diesel driving ban it introduced as the country’s first city last week, the public broadcaster NDR reports. The ban that affects short stretches of two major roads in the port city and include several exemptions was not enforced on the first day and was largely ignored by diesel drivers, according to media reports. Citizens need time to get used to the ban first, Karsten Wegge of Hamburg’s transport authority told NDR. Police will not issue fines right away but rather give warnings and advice to diesel drivers, the article says.

Read the article in German here.

For background, read the factsheet Diesel driving bans in Germany – The Q&A.

According to a government official, Germany wants the 8-9 June G7 summit, to be held in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada, to issue a joint communiqué that also covers climate and energy-related issues. In light of the US’ position, agreeing on a joint declaration – which usually includes a commitment to free and fair trade – “is not going to be easier this time than in past years,” said the official in Berlin. Under the German G20 presidency in 2017, a joint declaration was agreed, but the US opted out of provisions supporting the Paris Climate Agreement. One of the main working sessions at the Canadian summit is dedicated to climate change and clean energy, where topics such as the Paris Agreement will be discussed. The Group of Seven is a “community of values, which stands for multilateralism, free and fair trade, and of course also for responsibility in the area of climate,” said the official. “We feel committed to this community.” Having a joint communiqué laying out policy priorities makes sense, because it helps the public assess the extent to which the G7 members fulfil their commitments in the future, said the official. Germany complied with 82 percent of last year’s summit commitments, according to a new report published by the Toronto-based G7 Research Group.

Find the G7 Taormina Summit Compliance Report in English here.

For background, read the CLEW articles Isolating Trump, 19 G20-members say Paris climate deal "irreversible,"  and Merkel calls for honouring Paris Agreement as climate action at home falters calls fo as well as the factsheet The story of "Climate Chancellor" Angela Merkel.