"How refreshing!" The senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP) sounded genuinely relieved when the delegation of politicians from the German state of Baden Württemberg explained that in Germany there was no debate whether the country should switch to 100% renewable energy sources - that notion is "mainstream" in Germany - but the discussion is how fast that transition should happen.
CAP hosted a roundtable discussion today with Baden Württemberg's environment and energy minister Franz Untersteller on German energy policy and what the U.S. could learn from that. The Germans were obviously proud of their bold, progressive stance on energy and climate while maintaining one of the strongest economies. "In Baden Württemberg unemployment is 3.9 percent, compared to around 9, 10 percent in the States," Untersteller said at least three times. He explained how about a decade ago, Germany had had a large, national debate on the future of the country's energy supply and the role of nuclear energy. At that time the Greens were in power and the conclusion had been that a decarbonization of the economy was inevitable and that nuclear power was not a part of that. "Atomausstieg" (phase-out of nukes) became national policy. A more conservative government later tried to slow the pace, but then Fukushima came. After the horrible tragedy in Japan, Germany decided that by 2022 all nuclear power plants had to be taken off the grid. For Baden Württemberg, which relies on nukes for 50% of its electricity consumption, that means a fundamental overhaul of its energy system. The eight oldest of the seventeen nuclear plants were shut down this year. Despite a lot of skepticism and fear that it would raise energy prices, not much had happened. Prices had hardly been influenced, no blackouts either. Would the "Atomausstieg" force Germany to abandon its renewable energy policy? Not at all. "We are convinced that climate change is a serious issue we should do something about," a parliamentarian said, causing the Americans to embarrassedly chuckle. The minister referred to a McKinsey report that said that 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction was perfectly possible in combination with the "Atomausstieg." That made me think back to last week's faculty meeting at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, when one professor proclaimed that "it is clear" that we can't get to 80% less CO2 emissions without "a dramatic increase" of nuclear power. "But, we can't do it with the current reactor technology." To me, the latter statement seemed to undermine the first, but contrast with the German notion is stark. This was the director of Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) speaking. For such a center the prospect of world without nuclear power, with all its complex security and international policy dimensions, is probably one worth doubting.
Apart from the climate issue, the Germans see huge opportunities in the energy efficiency and renewable energy business. Thanks to the widely copied German feed-in tariff system for renewable power generation, its renewable energy sector now boasts over 300,000 jobs and many companies that are leading in the world. "What about the lobby from vested fossil fuel interests?" someone asked. "We don't have such a thing as the Koch brothers," Untersteller said. Germany doesn't produce its own coal and few people would rather spend their euros on foreign oil and coal than on domestic solutions. Electricity consumers pay a 3.7 eurocents per kWh surcharge to pay for Germany's renewable energy policy, but approval rates of solar power are very high. Germany is turning a comparative disadvantage in the old-energy world (little domestic fossil fuel reserves) into a competitive edge in the new-energy world. As one American participant remarked, the abundance of cheap energy in the U.S. makes renewable energy far less competitive here. Nevertheless, the energy policy goals that drive the discussion in Germany are different from those in the U.S.. While for the Americans price, short term job creation and security of supply are most important, the Germans seem to put concerns over climate and new economic opportunities first. Whether this order of things reflects both countries' values and culture or is merely a consequence of different structural and geographic starting points, I don't know, but the German progressive consensus is surely refreshing and hopeful.
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