Berlin Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) wants to pave the way for climate neutrality in the country with a comprehensive legislative initiative. The first legislative package is to be passed by the federal cabinet in the spring, and another will follow in the summer.
“We are starting with a considerable backlog,” said Habeck on Tuesday when he presented his immediate measures. It is about “getting faster by a factor of three”. The previous path would lead to a clear missed target. The task is “gigantic”.
Habeck wants to focus his efforts on a drastic acceleration of the expansion of renewable energies. Habeck promised the industry climate protection agreements. With these contracts, the state offsets the additional costs of climate-neutral production processes.
If things go on as before, by the end of the decade Germany will have reduced its climate-damaging greenhouse gases by only 50 percent instead of the targeted 65 percent compared to 1990, said Habeck. “That is, in numbers, 200 million tons too much.”
The “Corona special effects” would not have had an effect this year, Habeck continued. Germany will also “clearly miss” its reduction target in 2021 and, according to forecasts, will even record an increase in emissions of four percent.
Habeck: “Backlog at all levels”
Overall, there is “a considerable backlog” in terms of climate protection at all levels, the minister said. The country must clearly advance efforts “in all areas”.
Habeck wants to accelerate climate protection
Cautious criticism was heard from the coalition partner FDP: “In some places we have to be careful not to overshoot the already very ambitious goals of the coalition agreement,” warned Lukas Köhler, climate policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group. By 2035, a climate-neutral electricity system would appear just as illusory as the full supply of green hydrogen. “We are therefore well advised to adhere to the coalition agreement and to strive for climate neutrality across sectors by 2045,” said Köhler.
The energy industry assessed Habeck’s advance largely positively. There is a chance “that the many shackles and brakes will be loosened, which in the past strangled the urgently needed expansion of renewables,” said Kerstin Andreae, General Manager of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW).
Faster permits and the rapid designation of areas are central. “If the federal government achieves a breakthrough here, the immediate program can become a milestone in the energy transition,” she said.
Habeck’s immediate measures at a glance:
Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG): An amendment to the EEG is to become part of an “Easter package” in which the urgent measures are bundled that are then to be passed by the cabinet in the spring. The aim of the EEG amendment is to achieve the 80 percent renewable share of electricity consumption targeted by the traffic light coalition by 2030. So far, the target value for 2030 has been 65 percent. Last year the share of renewables was 42 percent.
The value of 80 percent is also very ambitious because Habeck is assuming significantly higher electricity consumption in 2030. Reasons for this are, for example, the electricity required by hydrogen electrolysis, the growing importance of electromobility and increasing digitalization. Habeck therefore expects an electricity requirement of 715 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2030. Today it is 560 TWh. In order to move forward with the expansion of renewables, the tender volumes are to be increased in particular.
Solar acceleration package: The package contains a number of individual measures outside of the EEG. The possibilities for building open-space photovoltaic systems are to be significantly improved. In addition, it should become much more attractive to offer tenant electricity models. The previous coalition had also dealt with the issue of tenant electricity and achieved some improvements. However, the Greens are convinced that much more is possible to bring the energy transition into the cities.
Overall, the aim is to remove the bureaucratic hurdles for the operation of photovoltaic systems in and around rented apartment buildings. The aim of the coalition agreement to use all suitable roof areas for solar energy in the future is also to be implemented with the solar acceleration package. “Solar energy is mandatory for new commercial buildings, the rule for new private buildings,” says the immediate program.
Wind energy: Far too little has happened in the past few years with the expansion of wind energy, said Habeck. In the next few months he wants to convince the federal states to make more space available for the expansion of wind power. Two percent of the country’s area is necessary for this, said the Green politician. According to the Federal Environment Agency, 0.8 percent of the land area is currently earmarked for wind power use, but only 0.55 percent is actually used.
“We need more space,” said Habeck. Only Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein are close to the goal. By the summer he wants to have traveled to all countries and spoken to the specialist ministers or prime ministers.
In Bavaria, Habeck wants to overturn the distance regulation from residential buildings to wind turbines. Habeck said in response to a question about the 10-H regulation in Bavaria: “Wherever distance rules are in place in order to operate prevention planning, they can no longer exist.” The 10 H regulation in Bavaria states that a wind turbine is basically at least ten times its height must be away from residential developments. It is the strictest distance regulation in Germany.
Immediately there was an objection from Bavaria. “The 10-H rule is not being shaken. The Bavarian regulation on wind power ensures acceptance and ensures public participation, ”said CSU General Secretary Markus Blume of the German Press Agency. Habeck should take better care of the necessary line construction and the prevention of supply gaps. “Even a quick suggestion of how the galloping energy costs can be absorbed would be in the interests of millions of Germans,” added Blume.
The distance regulations for wind turbines are particularly strict in Bavaria – much to the annoyance of the Federal Minister of Economics.
(Photo: dpa)
Habeck also wants to make areas available as quickly as possible where radio beacons for air traffic control and military concerns have hitherto stood in the way of use. Habeck puts the potential at “eight to nine gigawatts” of additional wind power that could be installed as a result.
To put it into perspective: The value corresponds to the addition in two very good wind power years. The previous government had also dealt with the issue, but made no decisive progress.
Individual concerns should no longer stand in the way of the expansion of wind power in Germany, argued Habeck. Nature conservation concerns do not fundamentally stand in the way of the expansion of wind power. It is about combining climate protection and nature conservation. Renewable energies are part of the solution to make Germany less dependent on fluctuations in global markets and to create more jobs.
Contracts for difference: Habeck promises the industry to create the legal and financial prerequisites for the provision of climate protection contracts (Carbon Contracts for Difference, CCfD for short) as a “central instrument to support the transformation of industry” as quickly as possible. The public sector undertakes to undertake to companies to bear the additional costs compared to investments in conventional technology and the additional costs of ongoing operations when investing in new, climate-neutral processes.
The industry must “get started now”. Later on, they may have to “pay back a piece of the funding,” said Habeck. This applies when the CO2 price exceeds a certain level.
The previous government had also dealt intensively with contracts for differences. However, they have only been used on a trial basis so far. For months now, companies in the steel and chemical industries have been insisting on finally getting a concrete offer from politicians so that they can invest in new plants.
Associations and economists react differently
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) welcomed the fact that Habeck now wants to push the topic forward: “The announcement that climate protection agreements will be used as a central instrument to support the transformation in industry is correct. In order to remain globally competitive, the industry needs binding funding and investment frameworks for entry into climate-friendly production processes, ”said BDI President Siegfried Russwurm. It is now a matter of turning the announcements into action quickly so that companies can invest.
The association VIK, in which large energy consumers from industry have come together, expressed doubts. The restructuring of the industry takes time. “We hope for a detailed package of solutions and not just symbolic declarations of intent that will result in a target adjustment by tripling the speed,” said VIK chief executive Christian Seyfert.
Climate economist Ottmar Edenhofer is convinced that contracts for difference are inextricably linked with higher CO2 prices. “The contracts for difference can only be financed in the long term if they are supplemented by a rising CO2 price. Because the difference between the avoidance costs of the companies and the CO2 price has to be paid by the state, ”said the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
“If the CO2 price is too low, this gap becomes large – and then it becomes expensive for taxpayers,” he added. “A market-based, increasing CO2 pricing with social compensation should be pushed ahead quickly. The federal government should therefore bring forward the auctioning of certificates within the framework of the national emissions trading for traffic and buildings – within a broader price corridor – to 2023 and not only start in 2026, ”recommended Edenhofer.
The Greens had campaigned for a stronger increase in the price of CO2, but were unable to prevail in the coalition negotiations.
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