In the media: "The godmother of climate" and domestic coal row
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
“The godmother of climate receives visitors”
The Petersberg Climate Dialogue is Angela Merkel’s reaction to the failed climate summit of Copenhagen in 2009 and it has been an investment that slowly paid off, Andreas Mihm writes in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). In its sixth year, the climate dialogue has attracted high ranking visitors and as always the Chancellor is speaking at the panel. But then even the German president receives the delegations and appeals to their ecologic conscience – and that is something that hasn’t ever happened before, Mihm says. Merkel’s message is clear: climate policy is part of Germany's “reason of state”.
Read the FAZ article in German here.
Read a CLEW article about the Petersberg Climate Dialogue results here.
Reuters
“Coal row takes shine off Germany's green image before G7 summit”
Angela Merkel was once dubbed the “climate chancellor” and still hopes to convince the G7 and other industrialised nations to cut greenhouse gases but a domestic row over cutting emissions from Germany’s old coal plants could threaten her ability to lead by example, writes Caroline Copley for Reuters.
Read the article in English here.
Read a CLEW article on the German government’s struggle with the climate levy on old coal here.
Süddeutsche Zeitung
“A question of trust”
Climate protection is all about trust, says Michael Bauchmüller in an opinion-piece for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Industrial countries have to trust eachother in that the other will also make an effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions and developing countries have to trust the rich nations that they will help them building low carbon economies. Because of this it is a good move of Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande to put climate finance at the centre of a new global climate treaty, Bauchmüller writes.
FAZ
“The climate check”
Angela Merkel will not let anything tarnish her reputation as a climate chancellor, no matter what the costs for the German taxpayer, writes Heike Göbel in an op-ed in the FAZ. She promised to double German payments to the global climate funds, calculating that this will persuade developing nations to commit to a global climate treaty more easily. But why would they, Göbel asks. After having used the money for all sorts of other purposes these countries will only embrace a low carbon energy supply if it promises more prosperity than other options. But in this area, Germany is making for a daunting example because of its “extremely expensive” Energiewende, Göbel writes.
Handelsblatt
Vattenfall CEO: “Gabriel’s speed is too high”
The climate levy for old coal-fired power plants planned by energy minister Sigmar Gabriel is not realistic, the CEO of utility Vattenfall, Magnus Hall, told the business daily Handelsblatt. “The exit from coal is going on anyway. Gabriel wants to accelerate it dramatically for Germany. But the speed is too high,” the paper quotes Hall.
Read the Handelsblatt article here.
"Mandatory direct marketing of wind power increases financing costs"
The mandatory direct marketing of wind generated power, which is being introduced for larger installations after the reform of the Renewables Energy Act (EEG) in 2014, is driving up financing costs for new installations, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) says in a study. “Depending on the underlying assumptions, mandatory direct marketing may create additional support costs ranging from 3 to 12 percent for new wind turbine,” the researchers write. “Ensuring favourable financing costs should therefore be an important criterion in the further development of the EEG.”
Read a CLEW factsheet on the reform of the EEG here.
Market stability reserve strengthens European emissions trading system
A market stability reserve in the European emissions trading system ETS can strengthen the scheme, the DIW says in a second study. “The analysis of different volume- and price-based configurations of such a reserve shows that a quantity-based approach, especially if implemented early with direct transfer of allowances from other reserves, improves the cost efficiency of emissions trading, strengthens the consistency and credibility of price signals for investors, and increases the resilience to shocks,” the researchers write.
Find the DIW studies in German with an English abstract here.
Read a CLEW story on the planned market stability reserve here.
Citizen dialogue on power grid
The German government has launched an additional effort to inform the public about its grid expansion projects. The platform “Bürgerdialog Stromnetz” (Citizen dialogue power grid) is set up by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and operated by DUH Umweltschutz-Service GmbH. It includes a website where concerned citizens can ask questions, several regional bureaus and citizen information meetings concerning specific grid expansion routes.
See the Bürgerdialog Stromnetz website in German here.
