German govt approves long-delayed 10-year national energy and climate plan

Germany’s government has approved the final version of its 10-year national energy and climate plan (NECP) after more than six months of delay. The plan contains Germany’s country-specific targets, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 (compared to 1990), reducing primary energy use by 30 percent (compared to 2008) and increasing the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption to 30 percent, both also by 2030. The NECP takes into account the government’s “climate package” decisions from autumn 2019, which were introduced to ensure the country meets its 2030 targets. However, studies have since said that the package is not enough to reach these targets. In the plan released today, the government said that the energy and climate policy is “continuously developed further”. With the plan, Germany “helps to make energy and climate policy in the EU more transparent and comparable, and to reach the 2030 EU energy targets together with our European partners,” said economy minister Peter Altmaier in a press release.

The national plans outline how the EU member states intend to address energy efficiency, renewables and greenhouse gas emission reductions. All EU member states were required to send the final version of their NECPs to the European Commission by 31 December 2019. However, the German plan was delayed as key legislative proposals from the government’s “climate package” still had to be decided, such as details of the coal exit. A first draft from the end of 2018 had been patchy. Each country must submit a progress report every two years.