{"id":34250,"date":"2016-09-16T10:54:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T10:54:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-10-08T10:43:56","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T10:43:56","slug":"9250-german-ministry-avoids-concrete-targets-in-weakened-climate-action-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/9250-german-ministry-avoids-concrete-targets-in-weakened-climate-action-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"German ministry avoids concrete targets in weakened Climate Action Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final version of the German environment ministry\u2019s Climate Action Plan has <\/span>been <\/span>published<\/a>. But concrete targets included in previous drafts have been removed, prompting the Green Party<\/a> to describe the document as an \u201cadmission of government failure\u201d. Germany’s powerful industry lobby group BDI meanwhile welcomed <\/a>the latest version as a “better basis for discussion”.<\/p>\n

The Climate Action Plan was <\/span>announced at the Paris Climate Summit<\/a> as a framework for how Germany was to reach its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95% by 2050<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Germany is already struggling to meet its 2020 climate targets, and is under additional pressure after Chancellor Angela Merkel <\/span>repeatedly said<\/a> she would make climate policy a priority of Germany\u2019s G20 presidency next year.<\/p>\n

The environment ministry\u2019s final version of the plan is still to be coordinated with other ministries and will probably be put before cabinet in early November. But critics say it had <\/span>already been watered down<\/a> under pressure from Sigmar Gabriel\u2019s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which insisted on the omission of a date for the coal exit.<\/p>\n

In some sections, the environment ministry’s plan now leaves blanks for earlier detailed targets. Environment minister Barabara Hendricks stressed during a press conference that negotiations during the consultation process with the other ministries would still fill these blanks. “We will have to put back numbers and concrete measures, that\u2019s what we\u2019ll work on in the coordination with the other ministries,” she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the initial statement posted on the ministry\u2019s website together with the plan<\/a>, Hendricks pointed out that Merkel\u2019s Chancellery had asked for further changes to the original draft of the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have accepted these amendments to avoid further delays to the necessary discussions within the federal government,\u201d Hendricks said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Green Party and environmental organisations said the Climate Action Plan has lost all power as a blueprint for decarbonising Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cHendrick\u2019s Climate Action Plan started as a tiger, but turned out to be a toothless tiger-skin rug,\u201d said Green parliamentarians B\u00e4rbel H\u00f6hn and Oliver Krischer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Changes to the Climate Action Plan 2050 came after <\/span>industry associations repeatedly voiced<\/a> their criticism of sector targets and the listed measures they feared would harm Germany\u2019s economy and competitiveness.
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\nHolger L\u00f6sch from the Federation of German Industries (<\/span>BDI) said in a statement that the latest version provided a better basis for discussions for a reliable and long-term climate policy. The group also reiterated that any national rule had to be in line with European instruments, mainly the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). L\u00f6sch said changes to sections about buildings and mobility would be “reasonable”.<\/p>\n

Preamble stresses focus on industry competitiveness<\/span><\/h2>\n

Among other changes, Hendricks made concessions on the transition to renewable transport, one of the weak spots of Germany\u2019s Energiewende<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A June draft said that by 2030 \u201ca large majority of newly registered cars\u201d would have to be powered by electricity or biofuels. But the new plan only states that \u201cthe government aims to significantly lower car emissions by 2030\u201d and that e-cars would contribute to that goal.<\/span>
\n\u200b<\/a>
\nGreenpeace<\/span> energy expert Tobias Austrup said the plan\u2019s soft stance on transport put the future of the car industry at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as an emission-free transport sector is not defined as a matter of course, carmakers will continue to dream of a future for the combustion engine \u2013 a future that will not exist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added that without a coal exit and specific targets for different business sectors, the plan \u201clampooned\u201d the spirit of the Paris Climate Conference.<\/p>\n

While the environment ministry has repeatedly called<\/a> for a managed coal exit by 2045 or 2050, other ministries, state premiers in coal mining regions and trade unions have resisted.<\/p>\n

Environmental NGOs praised Merkel for pushing G7 leaders to commit to decarbonisation, and for fighting to make the Paris Climate Conference a success.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the \u201cClimate Chancellor\u2019s<\/a>\u201d real commitment is under question because of her failure to push for an end to Germany\u2019s dependence on highly polluting brown coal.<\/p>\n

Germany increased power production from renewables to <\/span>over 30%<\/a> in 2015, yet overall<\/a> CO2 emissions<\/a>, as well as emissions from the power and transport sector, have stagnated or increased slightly over the last five years.
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\nMerkel said in her speech during parliament’s debate of the 2017 budget that the Energiewende was one of the long-term projects where the government had “achieved a lot” but still had to keep working on. “This includes, obviously, the climate action plan we are working on,” she said. “But this has to be a climate action plan where we manage to reconcile jobs and the concerns about the climate.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Policy director of environmental NGO Germanwatch Christoph Bals said \u201cthe government appears to lack the necessary courage to agree on a clear strategy\u201d to implement the Paris Climate Agreement, adding that the pending consultation with other ministries was a last chance to create a Climate Action Plan \u201cworthy of its name\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cabinet is scheduled to approve the Plan by early November. The Climate Action Plan will not be a law \u2013 and so will not be put to a vote in parliament \u2013 but rather become part of the government\u2019s energy transition strategy.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s trimmed-down Climate Action Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

This CLEW factsheet outlines the main features of the new draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo rigid provisions\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

The new version contains more flexible language, and states explicitly that: \u201cIt cannot and will not be a detailed masterplan, fixed for decades.\u201d According to its new preamble, the Climate Action Plan 2050 presents measures that will make Germany \u201clargely\u201d greenhouse-gas-emissions neutral \u201cby mid-century\u201d. Yet, there will be \u201cno rigid provisions\u201d. The plan proposes \u201cguiding principles\u201d, serves as an \u201corientation\u201d for all stakeholders and will \u201cperiodically be adapted\u201d (at least every five years).<\/p>\n

In contrast to the original draft, the new version does not include emission reduction targets for each sector anymore (energy, transport, industry, buildings, agriculture). Some of the other concrete targets mentioned in previous drafts were either deleted from the current <\/a>draft<\/a>or left blank. These were substituted by the note: \u201cxx [value will be set during coordination between the ministries].\u201d<\/p>\n

Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks stressed that concrete targets and measures would be introduced after talks with other ministries.<\/span><\/p>\n