New govt’s renewables expansion plans could double Germany's CO2 reduction by 2030 – report
Clean Energy Wire / dpa
Germany's CO2 reduction by 2030 could more than double as a result of the prospective new government’s renewables expansion plans, according to calculations by the German Economic Institute (IW). If the new coalition, formed by the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP), meets its targets, an additional 172 million metric tonnes of CO2 could be saved in relation to 2020 emissions compared to the plans of the current government, which amounted to 106 millions tonnes of CO2 savings, IW reports. The institute stressed that implementation of the wind and solar energy expansion plans is crucial. "Because if approval procedures take several years in some cases, too few areas are made available for wind turbines and there is also no planning security for plant operators, then even the best targets won't help," said IW energy expert Andreas Fischer.
The prospective government parties aim to cover 80 percent of power demand with renewables by 2030 – a significant increase from the current target of 65 percent. Energy industry associations have urged the incoming government under (SPD) chancellor Olaf Scholz to make renewables expansion a priority in the first 100 days by removing regulatory barriers that hamper the roll-out of more renewables, particularly of onshore wind turbines.
