The Day After the COP28 Climate Summit: Germany Falls Behind
The UN climate summit agreement in Dubai concluded this Tuesday. The very next day, several members of the Last Generation in Leipzig sprayed a public Christmas tree with orange paint. The agreement reached in Dubai to phase out fossil fuels did not seem to go far enough for the activists. As her only Christmas wish, one of them expressed a “safe future.” Whether Santa Claus will deliver this remains unclear: the German government is missing 60 billion euros from the Climate and Transformation Fund.
Renewable Energy Capacity to Triple by 2030
Representatives from around 200 countries convened in the petro-state of Dubai to discuss global warming and the future of energy supply. While participants were unable to establish a fixed exit date from fossil fuels, they once again agreed on the ambitious targets that the G20 nations had already formulated for the transition to renewable energy. On one hand, renewable energy capacity is to triple by 2030. On the other hand, the agreement includes doubling the pace of energy efficiency improvements during this period. Germany had previously played a pioneering role among the G20 nations in the climate transition. However, this position may now be jeopardized by the recent budget cuts.
Fossil Fuels Are No Longer a Safe Investment for Investors
The summit president, Al Jaber, summarized the breakthroughs of COP28 on Wednesday. He spoke of mobilizing more than $85 billion ($78.8 billion euros) in new financial commitments across all climate sectors. Others saw the event as a strong signal to industry and investors that the era of coal, oil, and gas is coming to an end. Mark Campanale, founder and director of Carbon Tracker, emphasized that we should not delude ourselves. The hundreds of billions invested in fossil fuels have become significantly riskier. The likelihood of investments in fossil fuels being lost has not decreased but increased following this climate meeting and the momentum it has generated.
Germany Cannot Keep Pace with the USA
And Germany is falling behind. The Karlsruhe judges declared the reallocation in the 2021 budget null and void (as we reported). This leaves a 60 billion euro shortfall in the Climate and Transformation Fund, which had already been firmly allocated for projects in the coming years. Since then, the coalition government has had to implement savings—unfortunately, in the wrong areas. The purchase incentive for electric vehicles is to expire before 2025. Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck also announced cuts in the solar industry. Furthermore, the renovation of the Deutsche Bahn rail network will no longer be financed through the Climate Fund, requiring Finance Minister Lindner to find alternative solutions. Neither the coalition government nor the opposition recognizes what is truly necessary: Germany no longer has funds for the raw materials fund and is not investing boldly enough in innovation. In this manner, it will be unable to keep pace with the USA. Whether Christmas or not: if we wish for a secure future, there must be a radical change of course here. Maintaining the debt brake is an ideological obstacle.