The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Traffic light check: climate backtracking with flimsy justification? Expert warns - green answers

2021-12-29T18:51:46.560Z


Traffic light check: climate backtracking with flimsy justification? Expert warns - green answers Created: 12/29/2021, 7:47 PM From: Florian Naumann Will the Ampel Coalition meet its high standards for climate protection? Expert Michael Pahle and Ingrid Nestle (Greens) exchange arguments. © M. Litzka / Imago / PIK The Ampel-Coalition has big plans for 2022. But are they suitable as measures ag


Traffic light check: climate backtracking with flimsy justification?

Expert warns - green answers

Created: 12/29/2021, 7:47 PM

From: Florian Naumann

Will the Ampel Coalition meet its high standards for climate protection?

Expert Michael Pahle and Ingrid Nestle (Greens) exchange arguments.

© M. Litzka / Imago / PIK

The Ampel-Coalition has big plans for 2022. But are they suitable as measures against the most pressing problems?

IPPEN.MEDIA lets experts judge - and the traffic lights answer.

Berlin / Potsdam - climate protection.

A topic that extends far beyond Germany.

And about the term of office of the traffic light government.

Nonetheless, all eyes will be on the new coalition's climate efforts as early as 2022.

After all, all three parties came together with the aim of putting the country on course for climate neutrality.

Above all the Greens *.

Greens and the traffic light: rescue the climate or back down out of fear of the voters?

But whether that will succeed with the Ampel coalition agreement? Experts had doubts shortly after the presentation of the paper. Time to take a closer look: Shortly before the end of the year,

IPPEN.MEDIA

brings

experts and traffic light politicians together. On the subject of climate, Dr. Michael Pahle, head of the working group on climate and energy policy at the renowned Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, spells out the open questions about the coalition agreement. He considers it “completely open” whether the traffic light plans can lead to the desired greenhouse gas neutrality. The climate protection spokeswoman for the Green Group, Ingrid Nestle, answered.

The dialogue between researchers and MPs makes some of the main points of contention clear: Would it have needed more courage with the carbon price, which was so hotly debated in the election campaign - and implicitly also: Have the Greens bought the necessary edge for resolute climate protection?

Does the traffic light rather protect the peace of mind of the voters than the climate?

And: Are the SPD, Greens and FDP relying too much on cues from the EU instead of taking courageous steps?

The decision is ultimately incumbent on the voters.

And in this case, of course, the very real development in global warming.

Scholz's government facing the climate challenge: researcher and Green politician in dialogue

Traffic light check: "Restrictions mean dissatisfaction" - expert Michael Pahle doubts the climate plans

In 2022, climate policy will be dominated by the completion of the coalition agreement. It is particularly ambitious when it comes to "expansion": above all that of renewable energies, but also new technologies such as hydrogen and the associated infrastructure. This is undoubtedly essential to achieving the climate goals - but it is also associated with the least amount of social resistance. Because expansion creates work. And work creates satisfaction.

The situation is different when it comes to “reducing” emissions: reduction means restriction, and restriction - if you do not want it yourself - creates dissatisfaction.

This is particularly a problem when the breadth of consumers is concerned.

The coal phase-out by 2030 is no longer an upset, but reducing energy consumption in residential buildings and driving a car is politically toxic, so to speak.

Accordingly, the traffic light projects are comparatively tentative steps.

It is completely open whether and how they can lead to greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045 in the long term.

The new government doesn't want that either - for social reasons, because of the current high energy prices.

But the argument is flimsy.

Expert Michael Pahle on the traffic light waiver of a controversial increase in the CO2 price.

This is most evident in the national CO2 price in fuel emissions trading. In the summer, the last federal government tightened the climate targets, but not the CO2 price path. The new government doesn't want to do that either - for social reasons, because of the current high energy prices. But the argument is flimsy: the increase could only have been carried out from 2023, when energy prices have probably normalized again. Even if that didn't happen, the compensation mechanism (climate money) already provided for in the coalition agreement could have been implemented by then, thus ensuring social equilibrium.

The same applies to the growing importance of European climate policy for Germany.

In the coalition agreement there are many passages on the Fit-for-55 package of the EU Commission, which, however, have a predominantly benevolent and consenting character.

Here, too, the CO2 price is pars pro toto: the German government would like to revise it in line with the EU package.

In plain language this means: wait and see what comes (from the EU) and then react.

The former Chancellor once said: the CO2 price is the yardstick for the seriousness of climate policy.

The new federal government urgently needs to raise the CO2 price next year in order to take the barometer to the next level.

The steps to do this are very simple.

It now needs the political will and a responsible person in the top office who takes on this task as a priority.

Traffic light in the climate check: Green climate spokeswoman Ingrid Nestle answers

Traffic light check: "It's okay not to add another increase" - Greens defends the climate plans

Renewables are at the heart of the coalition agreement. Thats alright. The nuclear and coal phase-out and the restructuring of the industry have long been decided. It was all relatively conflict-free. But no entry was assigned to the exit. You can't get out of coal and nuclear without expanding into renewables very quickly. We are facing this much greater challenge. Therefore, with this coalition agreement, there is finally a coherent concept for the energy supply of the future. A concept for an environmentally friendly, but also safe and inexpensive energy supply. Because the renewables lower the electricity price. The dependence on fossil fuels has driven it to unimaginable top prices in recent months.

And yes, instead of climate money, the EEG surcharge is to be abolished for the time being.

I think it's okay not to add an increase in the CO2 price to the current fossil fuel price rally.

It is not climate policy but the dependence on fossil fuels that makes heating so expensive.

We feel the lack of real climate policy over the past 10 years painfully in our wallets.

In the event of falling prices for fossils, the coalition agreement indicates that the issue must be discussed again.

It may be a bit hidden in the coalition agreement, but it is clearly agreed.

Ingrid Nestle, climate protection spokeswoman for the Green parliamentary group, on the traffic light's plans for emissions trading at EU level.

We do not wait and see in EU politics.

The Commission's proposals for European emissions trading are on the table.

They are much more demanding than anything that Germany has supported in the past.

It may be a bit hidden in the coalition agreement, but it is clearly agreed: We will fight at the EU level in the future for very strong emissions trading for industry and the electricity sector.

Nevertheless, I would like to agree with Mr. Pahle on one point: There is still a lot of potential on the way to moderate consumption, which can make us happy without squandering the basics of our children.

Politics and society can only win here together.

This article is part two of a three-part

IPPEN.MEDIA

series on some of the great challenges for the new traffic light coalition in 2022. Part one brought migration expert Gerald Knaus and SPD MP Lars Castellucci into dialogue.

In part three, the conflict between the epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb and the FDP health politician Andrew Ullmann will be about requirements for a forward-looking corona policy.

(

fn

) *

Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

IPPEN.MEDIA series at the start of the first traffic light calendar year: The participants in the climate dialogue

Dr.

Michael Pahle

is a working group leader at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

One of his main research areas is the management of the transformation of climate policy.

Most recently he published the paper “Financials threaten to undermine the functioning of emissions markets”.

Ingrid Nestle

has been a member of the German Bundestag for the Greens since 2017 and was initially the spokesperson for the parliamentary group's energy industry, and since 2021 for climate protection and the energy industry.

Before that, the graduate industrial engineer was State Secretary for the energy transition and technical environmental protection in Schleswig-Holstein.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-12-29

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.