Germany has committed itself to an ambitious long-term policy agenda to decarbonise the energy sector. The Energiewende – or energy transformation – policies aren’t cheap, but the German government says it’s a price worth paying for long term energy security and a low carbon economy. Mat Hope takes a look at the real causes for recent price increases, the prospects for policy reforms and the crucial role of public support.
All posts tagged: Emissions
Coal power causes roughly 3,000 deaths per year in Germany
The campaign against coal power continues in Germany. Two new studies come to relatively similar estimates of the number of people who die every year from coal emissions in Germany alone – and one organization says some EU standards are more lax than those in China and the US. Craig Morris wonders whether the various numbers from different studies will convince skeptics.
“Efficiency lacks a loud lobby”: An interview with Florentin Krause
Recently, our Craig Morris did a three-part book review of the original “Energiewende: growth and prosperity without petroleum and uranium” from 1980. He then spoke with one of the authors, Florentin Krause, who had a few bones to pick with Craig’s reading – and with the current implementation of the concept in Germany.
Calling for a Coal Phaseout: The Health Costs
Opponents of wind turbines charts that they kill tens of thousands of birds each year. How many birds died from coal plant emissions? The question is rarely asked, but Craig Morris has been following the subject for more than a decade and finds the human death toll from coal power is much bigger than the number of birds killed by wind turbines.
The New Energy System is Winning the Fight for the Future
What role will the energiewende play in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Germany? How does Germany’s approach to renewables differ from the UK’s? Catherine Mitchell from the University of Exeter takes a look at both countries.
Count Nuclear Waste, Not Just CO2
How much carbon does the average American or European emit per year? How much does the world emit? And if you know the answers to those questions, maybe you can also tell Craig Morris how many tons of nuclear waste the world has? He tried, and failed, to find out.