The new German government will push the EU to demand the end of coal and leave nuclear

Coalition parties have already agreed to accelerate Germany’s coal phase-out by 2030 and nuclear by 2022.

Neither coal nor nuclear, the goal is renewables. The new German government, made up of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal FDP, is clear that its climate goal will be ambitious and fast. The tripartite has already formally agreed to increase efforts to speed up Germany’s coal phase-out by 2030, while massively increasing the share of renewables to 80% in the same time frame.

It also maintains the scheduled closure for nuclear power by the end of 2022. In addition, the incoming government under the leadership of Social Democrat Olaf Scholz has also committed to making at least 50% of heating climate neutral by 2030. Under the previous German government, the exit date for coal was set at 2038.

During the press conference on the coalition agreement, the leader of the Green Party, Analena Baerbock, declared that “this agreement has paved the way towards climate neutrality. Climate protection will be a cross-cutting issue in all areas: from transportation to industry, construction and housing to agriculture, but also international collaboration and security policy”.

To align economic and climate goals, the coalition parties plan to create a new Ministry of Economy, Energy, Climate Protection and Transformation, which will merge the powers of the energy, industry and climate departments.

And the Greens will be in charge of leading this “superministry”, responsible for renewable energy, the electricity sector, energy networks and the federal climate action law.

Influence in the EU

According to the Center for European Reform, the German coalition agreement contains commitments on security policy, environmental ambition, rigor in climate relations with China and a more aggressive green fiscal policy, which will not only affect the country but will influence the European politics.

But in what areas can the political orientation of the new tripartite be decisive? For example, in the controversial European CO ₂ emission rights market, the EU ETS. A few days ago the German government announced that it was going to promote a minimum price of CO ₂ throughout the EU, which caused new records, exceeding 75 euros/Tn of CO ₂ for the first time, a level that was not expected to be reached so soon .

Another thorny issue is the cross-border tax on CO ₂ , known as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

Therefore, they plan to start (together with European and international partners) an international Climate Club with a uniform minimum price of CO ₂ and a common carbon border adjustment. That is, push more countries to pressure polluting states to pay a fee for their emissions.

And finally, they have a position on the controversial NordStream 2 pipeline. And although there is no mention of Germany’s dependence on Russian fossil energy, the new government wants to cooperate with Russia with the development of hydrogen and climate protection. Also, he wants to support Ukraine and strengthen the energy partnership of the two countries, in particular in the production of green hydrogen and renewable energies.

national measures

Already on a national level, the agreement includes the expansion of renewable energies, with an increase in the share of electricity consumption to 80% in 2030. To do this, they want to push for streamlining planning and approval procedures and making solar panels mandatory for new commercial buildings and recommended for private ones.

In addition, 2% of the surface of the State will be allocated to the expansion of onshore wind energy, which could lead to clashes with local social movements that are against the installation of this technology near their homes.

Another aspect that will be promoted is offshore wind energy. Its goal is to increase it to at least 30 GW in 2030, 40 GW in 2035 and 70 GW in 2045.

As for nuclear, the agreement for the closure scheduled for the end of 2022 is maintained, and that nuclear energy pays its own costs. The search for a site for a final disposal of high-level radioactive waste “must continue in accordance with the principles established by law: based on science, participatory, transparent, self-questioning and learning.”

In the case of heating systems, by 2030, 50% of heating will be generated in a climate-neutral way and new buildings will be adjusted from 2025 to exclude, de facto, any fossil fuel heating systems, meeting the strictest energy efficiency standards. From 2025, any new heating system has to be able to run on a capacity of at least 65% renewable energy.

Finally, in the mobility sector, the new German government intends that by 2030 at least 15 million fully electric cars should circulate, which represents one in three vehicles.

According to EU regulations, from 2035 only CO2- _neutral vehicles may be registered (“this has a correspondingly earlier impact in Germany”), with an exception for vehicles that can be “proven to work”. with e-fuels”.

Source: The Spanish