When the Green Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, presents his “opening balance sheet” on climate protection this Tuesday, he will list the failures of the black-red coalition. It did not achieve its ambitious goals for the energy transition. The traffic light government has now even increased its ambitions: even more expansion of wind, solar power and green hydrogen, a de facto obligation for electric cars, a de facto ban on fossil heating and the bringing forward of the coal phase-out by no less than eight years to the new miracle year 2030. Then 80 percent of the electricity consumption should come from renewable sources - almost twice as much as today, and that with a significant increase in the electrification of transport, heating and industry.
Both the expansion of renewable energy sources, especially wind power, and that of the transmission networks are lagging behind.
Nevertheless, the last three - climate-friendly - nuclear power plants will go offline this year.
Instead, red-green-yellow wants to build new, more climate-damaging gas-fired power plants.
In order to cover up this ecological misstep, they will later be operated with green hydrogen.
However, nobody knows where the green electricity for electrolysis will come from.
Gap between claim and reality
In order to close the gap between claim and reality, Habeck wants to accelerate planning and approvals. However, his predecessors already had a hard time with that. Reducing unnecessary distances from wind turbines to weather, pilot and military facilities sounds plausible, but also helpless. A great litter looks different. The same applies to the expansion of open-air photovoltaic systems “while observing nature conservation criteria”. Exactly these criteria and the possibilities to object against it have already hindered the expansion of wind energy.
The economy and the private sector are mainly interested in two things: How do the high energy prices fall and how does Germany secure its supply?
The abolition of the EEG surcharge, heating subsidies and more power plants for Russian natural gas are not convincing answers.
Habeck's opening balance is crooked.