As US ponders a Green New Deal, commentators debate what lessons to learn from Germany
The Hill / Bloomberg Opinion
Opinion writers are invoking Germany鈥檚 Energiewende in their arguments over US proposals for a Green New Deal (GND). Germany鈥檚 experience proves the Green New Deal would be a flop, conservative columnist Liz Peek . Despite spending billions on green infrastructure, Germany is failing to meet its own climate goals while driving up energy costs, Peek writes. 鈥淢aybe the Energiewende鈥檚 shortcomings will give advocates for the GND pause,鈥� she writes.
, Leonid Bershidsky, on the other hand, cautions not to use Germany as an argument against the Green New Deal. Germany has remained one of the world鈥檚 most competitive economies even as it switches to renewables. Higher energy prices 鈥渉ave been more of a blessing than a curse,鈥� he argues, transforming Germany into an energy-efficient economy. And while Germany is failing to meet its renewable goals, that鈥檚 largely because it is simultaneously phasing out nuclear power, and so growing renewable capacity has displaced nuclear instead of coal plants.
