When Germany and the European Union meet at the next COP28 climate summit, they want to convince COP members “to triple the expansion of renewable energies globally by 2030 and to double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency.”
Germany is the third-largest economy and has led the climate revolution.
The only problem is the Germans don’t even meet their own goals while compelling others to meet more stringent goals. Will they remain the leaders?
The news that Germany turned to climate-wrecking coal during last year’s energy crisis and shut down its last nuclear power plant, which produces close to zero emissions, cause incomprehension in Europe and around the world. Few cared that this decision is not expected to impact the climate much, as Germany had already closed all its other nuclear plants and Europe’s total emissions from the electricity sector are capped anyway.
“If we are told that you, as industrialised countries, have not achieved your own climate targets, then it is not quite as credible to remind others of theirs,” conceded Baerbock.
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The big goal: slashing emissions by 65% relative to 1990 levels by 2030 before achieving climate neutrality by 2045.
…Projections indicate that Germany will miss its 2030 climate target by around 200 million tonnes of CO2. Add recent budgetary woes and trade tensions with China, which could slow down the country’s switch to solar, and the gap is expected to widen even further.
What did the government do in response? It watered down the climate law, removing triggers for climate action that were initially envisioned.
Reality is setting in.
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