Energiewende
Germany has set the standard for initiatives to protect the planet. It's country-wide operation, the Energiewende (meaning "energy transition") has been extremely successful.
History
The idea of the Energiewende was initially introduced in 1980, calling for the abandonment of petroleum and nuclear energy. It was initially strongly opposed, but gradually became accepted as policies were formed around it. In the following decades, it took its current form by 2002.
The key document outlining the Energiewende was published in 2010 and it was approved in September.
After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, the plan eliminated the use of nuclear power as a bridging technology.
Since then, the plan has stayed roughly the same.
Actions
Though it sounds quite simple, transitioning an entire country out of fossil fuels and completely into renewable energy is no easy task. This is made even more difficult with the strict goals Germany set for itself:
Impact
The Energiewende is easily one of Germany's most ambitious plans ever, but with the support of 92% of Germany's citizens, has had a huge impact.
Firstly, let's talk about Germany's impact on the climate. By the end of 2015, German had already reduced its carbon emission by 27.2%. As well, Germany has already shut down 5 of its 20 nuclear power plants and is working to close more.
The Energiewende is also having massive economic benefitsm being Germany’s largest post-war infrastructure project. In 2015, despite the higher costs of renewable energy, Germany's economy grew by 1.7%! 350 000 Germans are now employed in the renewables sector, and unemployment is at an all-time low. In 2013, Germany spent 90 billion Euros to import two-thirds of its energy needs. With more renewable energy, it is becoming much less dependent on energy imports. Germany, being an export based economy, is now a leader in the development and exporting of green technology.
The Energiewende is undoubtedly a very successful climate change initiative, and will continue to be in the future.
How is Germany seeking to achieve these goals? Here's what the government done so far:
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The Renewable Energy Act
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Nuclear phase out
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Environmental taxation
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The Ecodesign Directive
From the points above, a particularly noteworthy one the Renewable Energy Act.
The Renewable Energy Act (abbreviated as the EEG in German) is a tremendous success story, with many countries basing their own legislation off of this act. The EEG prioritized renewable sources of energy and looked to compensate investors in renewables by introducing the concept of feed-in tariffs. The resulting high level of investment security and the lack of red tape are often cited as the main reasons why the EEG has brought down the cost of renewables so much (Morris & Pehnt, 2016).
Not only the government is getting involved with the Energiewende! German citizens are joining together to form cooperatives to help drive this energy transition.
Finally, in 2016, the German government adopted the Paris Agreement, adding it to their agenda to reduce the impact of climate change.
Background
Germany had been strongly feeling the effects of the changing climate. Rising temperatures, droughts, humid winters, and extreme weather events were becoming more prevalent. These things were taking their toll on German energy production, manufacturing, and agriculture, setting the stage for creating the Energiewende.
Since the implementation of the Energiewende, German carbon emission have been falling rapidly.
A map of temperatures rising across Germany.
