Germany's Stricter New Emissions Goals Present Huge Challenge
Germany's high court ruled in April that the government had to do more in the fight against global warming. The tough new emissions targets will be difficult to meet.
21.05.2021
Germany’s electricity needs will climb by 9 percent by 2030, according to calculations from the Öko Institut. At the same time, lignite- and bituminous coal-fired power plants are to be taken offline – plants that have supplied Germany with a significant portion of its energy mix. Initially, the phase out of coal was to be completed by 2038. "But with the new targets, we need to be done by 2030,” says Matthes. The consequence could be an enormous supply gap, with correspondingly high prices. Current trends on the energy market intensify those developments. The price that power-plant operators have to pay for every ton of CO2 emitted has been climbing quickly for months. Emissions certificates are now going for 50 euros each, more than twice the price of just six months ago. One might think that would be an incentive for operators to close down their fossil-fuel plants and switch to renewable energies. But bituminous coal, natural gas and even the dirtiest lignite plants have been supplying a huge share of Germany’s energy mix in recent weeks. And that is only tangentially a function of the cooler than average spring weather the country has been experiencing. The phase out of coal and nuclear limit supply, leading to lignite plants remaining online and, because of the cost of CO2 emission certificates, further driving up the already high electricity prices in the country, potentially by 50 percent by 2030, according to a study by the consulting firm Prognos...
