Germany’s two houses of parliament passed emergency legislation to reactivate canned coal-fired power plants to help power generation amid fears of gas shortages as Russia curbs capacity.
The move was described as “painful but necessary” by the government’s economy minister, environmentalist Robert Habeck. It has the support of the leading Greens in the coalition government, who argue it is needed as a short-term crisis management tool.
It received final approval from the upper house of parliament on Friday, passed along with a package of measures to encourage the expansion of renewable energy sources – in part by classifying them as a matter of public security – including by setting a minimum share of land that each federal state should allow for wind farms.
But environmentalists argue that a potential return to using such highly polluting energy is a trade-off too far and that Germany is in danger of missing even its most basic climate targets.
Before the conflict in Ukraine, Germany planned to phase out coal by 2030, as it is much more carbon-intensive than gas. But when gas supplies from Russia – on which Germany is heavily dependent – began to fall short after Russia cut the flow, steps were taken to restart coal-fired power plants that had been shut down.
The measures aim to help Germany wean itself off Russian gas, making it less vulnerable to blackmail, and to preserve energy supplies ahead of winter by using coal to generate electricity instead of gas, which should be spared for broad spectrum from industrial processes.
Industry bosses welcomed the move on Friday. In a statement, the Federation of German Industry (BDI) called the decision “better late than never.”
It said: “Politics and economics urgently need to use the summer months to conserve gas to ensure storage is full ahead of the upcoming heating season. Otherwise, we face a severe gas shortage with a sharp drop in industrial production. In this tense situation, what matters is every day and every cubic meter of gas we can save.
The gas storage facilities were only about a third full when war broke out. By Friday, they were gradually filling to about 63 percent capacity, amid austerity measures and efforts to secure supplies from elsewhere. But they are still well short of the 90% target to be reached by November 1, which experts say should almost see Germany through the winter.
Households and industry are now urged to save as much energy as possible. Habeck talks about reducing the length of his showers and encourages Germans to do the same. Elsewhere, municipalities introduced measures to reduce street lighting, to reduce the temperature of swimming pools, and some housing associations even began to limit hot water supplies to their tenants.
Gas bills have already doubled and may quadruple in the winter. “We are talking about increases in the amount of monthly income for some families,” Haback warned.
At the beginning of the war, the Germans were urged to reduce the use of gas to punish Vladimir Putin. Now the message has switched to reducing the gas to provide heat in the winter.
Gas supplies from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs across the Baltic Sea to Germany, have been reduced to around 40% of normal levels. On Monday, the pipeline’s annual maintenance project, which is expected to shut it down for about 10 days, was seen as a critical juncture. There are widespread fears, supported by Habek and other government figures, that Russia could use the opportunity to shut down the pipeline entirely under the pretext of damaged parts.
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am
Habeck told parliament on Thursday that Germany was a hostage to circumstances, but also blamed the energy policy of Angela Merkel’s previous government. “If you pose in front of melting icebergs and make the right decision to turn your back on them [nuclear] energy, but forget that you have to build the infrastructure to make it work, if you make political decisions about the climate but don’t back them up with measures, then it’s like leaving Germany standing in the rain,” he said.
Klaus Ernst, chairman of the parliament’s climate protection and energy committee, said the decision to re-ignite coal-fired power plants amounted to a “climate policy disaster”.
Ernst, a member of the far-left Vrzki party, said that by imposing sanctions on Russia, for which it is now seeking revenge, Germany had put itself in the position of “grabbing on measures that hit our own country harder than the country we intended to hit with sanctions”.
He said that if gas supplies from Russia stopped, Germany would face its worst economic crisis since World War II.
Ricarda Lang, leader of the Greens, said the coal plant decision made her “sick to the stomach” but that in the short term it was vital to ensure energy security in the coming months. “It is therefore right to enable coal-fired power stations to be brought back into use, but at the same time, of course, we need to work hard to ensure we still manage to stick to our target to phase out coal by 2030 .”
Add Comment