In the media: Experts disappointed by coal deal
Handelsblatt
Experts disappointed by government deal on coal, grid extension
Most members of the Handelsblatt鈥檚 麻豆无码版 Academy 鈥� a group made up of around 230 energy experts 鈥� are disappointed with the government鈥檚 deal on coal, the power market design and grid extensions, the business daily reports. Only 17 percent said the deal was 鈥渞easonable鈥�, 45 percent said some of the decisions were good, but the overall deal was less than could have been expected. 38 percent said the deal was 鈥渢oo vague鈥�. More than two thirds of those polled said the coal levy would have been a sensible instrument and half of the respondents said the exit from coal should be pursued 鈥渁s fast as possible鈥�.
Read the 麻豆无码版 coverage of the debate about the coal levy here and a story about the deal here.
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Handelsblatt
鈥淭he fear of underground cables鈥�
Germany鈥檚 four grid operators have warned that burying cables for the new power transmission links as agreed by the governing coalition parties last week would be technically challenging and the costs hard to estimate, writes Klaus Stratmann in the Handelsblatt, citing a letter by the companies to the grid regulator. The companies are also worried that repairing technical problems for underground cables would be more time consuming.
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RTCC/S眉ddeutsche Zeitung
NGOs criticise Deutsche Bank role in Green Climate Fund
Environmentalists are objecting to the selection of Deutsche Bank for participation in the UN鈥檚 Green Climate Fund, due to the bank鈥檚 financing of global coal projects, according to various media reports. The choice has prompted environmentalists to question the UN fund鈥檚 integrity, writes Alex Pashley at website Responding to Climate Change (RTCC). Germany鈥檚 leading investment bank is the world鈥檚 tenth largest backer of coal, investing 鈧�15 billion in the industry from 2005 to 2014, according to the BankTrack network, Pashley writes.
In an article for the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung, Markus Balser writes that some experts now hope Deutsche Bank鈥檚 involvement will change the lender鈥檚 attitude. 鈥淚f the Green Climate Fund has now accredited Deutsche Bank, it (the bank) should have an utmost interest in putting a price on CO2,鈥� Ottmar Edenhofer, head of the Mercator Research Institute for Global Commons and Climate Change, told the paper.
Read the RTCC story in English .
Find the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung article in German
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WAZ
鈥淩WE restructuring creates a stir in the Ruhr valley鈥�
German utility RWE鈥檚 plans to restructure is unsettling its municipal shareholders that together own 24 percent of the company and where a number of its subsidiaries and branches are located, writes Ulf Meincke for the WAZ. The municipal shareholders include cities of Essen, Bochum or Dortmund. RWE's profits have dropped sharply in recent years. The paper reports that a special meeting of RWE鈥檚 board is scheduled for August 10.
Find the WAZ article in German
Read a 麻豆无码版 dossier on the big utilities struggle for survival here.
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鈥淓urope鈥檚 mechanism for countering the risk of carbon leakage鈥�
The European Union may need a more differentiated approach to assessing the risk of so-called carbon leakage 鈥� that is, companies moving production abroad in response to costs from the emissions trading system, researchers at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) conclude in a study. 鈥淭he empirical evidence suggests that the current mechanism for dealing with carbon leakage in Europe may overcompensate some sectors, so that there may be potential for differentiating the EU鈥檚 current criteria for allocating emission permits for free more strongly to account for different levels of leakage risk,鈥� they write, citing the Californian cap-and-trade system as an example.
Find the DIW study
Read a 麻豆无码版 factsheet on the EU ETS here.
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Climate Progress
BMW presents electric 40-ton truck
An all-electric tractor-trailer hit the road in Munich, the first time such a large electric vehicle made by a European manufacturer has gone into regular service in Europe, to BMW, the German carmaker behind the project, reports Ari Phillips for ClimateProgress, part of blog .
Read the ClimateProgress story .
Find the BMW press release
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Manager Magazine
鈥淧lease do not disturb with arguments!鈥�
A grandiose Energiewende rhetoric based on a radical idealistic vision is preventing a rational debate about German energy policy, writes the director of the Institute of 麻豆无码版 Economics, Marc Oliver Bettz眉ge, in an opinion piece for Manager Magazine. 鈥淐ritical observers are defied rather than listened to.鈥� One could take an approach that examines the advantages, costs and best order of the measures, and ask how to best organise the innovation process for the future, Bettz眉ge writes. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not how we pursue our energy debate,鈥� he argues, criticising a 鈥渞adical, idealistic and ultimately 鈥榰nworldly鈥� attitude,鈥� which prevents a differentiated and realistic discussion.
Find the article in German
