German coalition talks break down / Storms cause renewables record
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After almost five weeks of deliberations, the pro-business Free Democratic Party has pulled the plug on Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 efforts to form a coalition government made up of her conservative CDU/CSU alliance, the Greens and the FDP. Migration was ultimately the most contentious issue, with politicians insisting disagreements over energy and climate policy were not the ultimate reason for the collapse. The Greens and CSU accused the FDP of playing tactical games. SPD head Martin Schulz reiterated that his party would not enter another grand coalition 鈥� making a minority government or new elections plausible options.
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Disagreements over energy and climate policy were not the ultimate reasons for the collapse of coalition talks to form a new government, representatives of three of the parties involved said at the annual congress of the German 麻豆无码版 Agency (dena) in Berlin. 鈥淲e have discussed a lot, energy and climate have been problematic,鈥� said Green member of parliament (MP) Oliver Krischer, who had been part of the party鈥檚 negotiation team. 鈥淏ut we had reached a point where there was a lot of movement.鈥� Christian Democratic (CDU) MP Joachim Pfeiffer said that he had the impression that questions around individual issues had not been at the core of the pro-business FDP鈥檚 decision to pull out. 鈥淚t was about psychology and also about a lack of will to reach an agreement.鈥� Free Democrat (FDP) Henner Schmidt, who is a member of the regional parliament of the federal state of Berlin, agreed: 鈥淚t did not fail because of that (energy and climate policy).鈥� The general atmosphere and the overall setting seemed to have been more of an issue, said Schmidt, who was not part of the FDP鈥檚 negotiation team.聽
Read the full 麻豆无码版 article German coalition talks collapse as pro-business FDP pulls plug and the 麻豆无码版 factsheet First reactions to collapse of German coalition talks for more information.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Two powerful autumn storms pushed German renewable electricity production to a record high this year, according to calculations by utility E.ON. E.ON manager Robert Hienz told news agency dpa that from January to mid-November, solar, wind and hydro power facilities generated 131 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, more than in the whole of 2016. Annual renewable production in 2016 was 129 billion kWh, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.
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Hamburger Abendblatt
Germany鈥檚 role as a host of this year鈥檚 UN climate conference 鈥渓eft a question mark for many diplomats鈥� at the COP23 in Bonn, J眉rgen Polzin writes in an op-ed for the Hamburger Abendblatt. That Germany is still ruled by a provisional government and Chancellor Angela Merkel remains vague on the future of coal are irritating factors, Polzin says. But the good news is that UN members are confronting the 鈥渉arsh reality of climate negotiations鈥� following success in Paris 2015. 鈥淕ermany鈥檚 example shows just how much of a challenge the energy transition is,鈥� he writes. Yet the many companies presenting climate-friendly solutions at COP23 showed 鈥渃limate protection does not only mean abstinence鈥� but also offers numerous business opportunities, he adds.
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S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
Many electricity suppliers in Germany will not lower their prices in 2018, even though falling wholesale power prices and grid fees mean they have leeway to do so, Thomas 脰chsner reports for the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Germany鈥檚 average 2017 power price was higher than ever before, at 28.18 euro cents per kilowatt, 脰chsner writes, even though wholesale prices were down 3 percent. Mathias K枚ster-Niechziol of price comparison website Verivox told the newspaper most of Germany鈥檚 800 suppliers would leave prices unchanged in the new year. Power suppliers 鈥渁re ready to use any argument in favour of higher prices,鈥� Udo Sieverding of the North Rhine-Westphalia Customer Protection Union said.
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See the 麻豆无码版 factsheet What German households pay for power for background.
