On 9 April 2025, Germany’s incoming government of Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) concluded a governing ‘contract’ that paves the way for the partners to take office in May. The new chancellor will be CDU chief Friedrich Merz, who underscored in the campaign that climate protection would not be a top priority. Paul Hockenos reports.
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EU’s Clean Industrial Deal: what next for Europe’s energy transition?
The European Commission has unveiled its new strategy to make EU industries more competitive with cheap energy. Does this mean the bloc will go full speed ahead in terms of building more wind farms and solar power plants? Jörg Mühlenhoff looks into what the details of the Clean Industrial Deal mean for Europe’s energy transition.
Why the British are still heat pump sceptics
Most Britons have no intention of installing a heat pump. Given the cost of electricity in the UK, that’s not unreasonable. Ros Taylor looks at why it is so hard to tempt them away from gas boilers.
Germany’s new government can’t just walk away from climate protection
Since 2019, Germany’s Climate Protection Act has had aimed to reduce Germany’s carbon emissions to zero by 2045. The incoming new government has to adhere to this law. Will it though?
Stopping Russian aggression means rejecting its fossil fuel exports – and, ultimately, switching to renewables
Three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Paul Hockenos compares the efforts of the EU and the US in view of weaning from Russian fossil fuels. On the ground, Ukraine’s transition to distributed renewables already rhymes with resilience against the aggressor.
2025: finally a breakthrough for cross-border passenger rail in the EU?
Boosting passenger train transport is key for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of transport and for accelerating Europe’s energy transition. Are EU railways on track? Establishing a fair picture of the state of Europe’s passenger railways is a hard task. It is essentially a question of whether you see the train as half full or half empty. Jon Worth reports.
For climate protection, this Trump Presidency could be worse than the last
On the campaign trail in 2024 and since the November election, former president Donald Trump has not let up in denying the tie between fossil-fuel use and global warming. His supporters include the world’s largest petroleum companies and they are expecting to be paid back. But it won’t happen on ‘day one,’ as he claims. Paul Hockenos reports.
A mess made in Germany: Volkswagen’s trials warn against resisting the green transition
The woes of the German automobile giant Volkswagen (VW) offer a lesson that applies beyond Germany and Europe: resist the green transition at your own peril – as laggards will pay a heavy price. Paul Hockenos reports.
Renewable energy in Argentina: a utopia for the global south?
Faced with the urgent challenge of climate change, Argentina needs to transform its energy matrix to use renewable sources. The energy transition (ET), focused on adopting clean energy, could open a door to breaking with an economic model dependent on fossil fuels and raw material exports. This transformation is not just an environmental issue but an opportunity to reduce structural vulnerability and build a more diversified and resilient economy. The question remains whether Argentina can make this shift without repeating cycles of dependency and economic volatility that have characterized its recent history. Sofía Croxatto reports.
Delivering a fair household energy transition: learning and priorities
The green technologies needed to rapidly cut our greenhouse gas emissions are already on the market. What’s more, they are, or very soon will be, cost effective. In other words, from the perspective of the household, it is, overall, cheaper to go green. However, there’s a catch: access to capital is king in the household energy transition. Alex Chapman reports.