Angela Merkel’s tarnished legacy on the environment

Agreeing on a phase-out plan for German coal was hard, implementing it will be harder still, writes Tobias Buck in an article for the Financial Times. Buck uses the recently-found coal exit proposal as an opportunity to shed light on Germany’s landmark Energiewende endeavour in an in-depth analysis. The transition, writes Buck, remains “a work in progress at best”. The industrial power house aims to decarbonise its economy while at the same time phasing out the use of nuclear energy. However, the rapid expansion of renewables has not brought down greenhouse gas emissions enough for Germany to reach its climate targets, and the country faces difficult tasks in cleaning up the buildings and transport sectors, writes Buck. “The challenge in reconciling the country’s industrial demands with its environmental ambitions has rarely been harder — and has become a defining issue for Chancellor Angela Merkel as she enters her final phase in office,” writes Buck.