Environmentalists are bemoaning Germany’s decision to abandon a nearly impossibly lofty goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent within the next two years.
Germany’s new coalition agreed to drop plans to cut emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, according to a report Monday from Reuters. Some critics believe the move is an embarrassing development for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was once dubbed the “climate chancellor.”
“It is disheartening to see developed parties lowering their ambition, particularly ones that had previously shown such strong leadership,” Maldives environment minister Thoriq Ibrahim, who chairs the alliance of small island states at UN climate talks, told reporters at Climate Change News.
Germany will instead aim to hit the 40 percent target sometime in the early 2020s, the report noted, adding that the reductions were due in large part to strong economic growth and a huge influx from immigrants. Stifling the lofty promise could cost Merkel, some experts say.
“Merkel will certainly come under pressure for that – she is connected to this 2020 target,” Brigitte Knopf, head of the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute, told reporters shortly after the report was published. “In Germany, it will hurt her reputation on climate change.”
Negotiators in the coalition government are outlining a new plant that seeks to phase out coal, which includes creating a transition fund for mining communities and increasing green energy shares to 65 percent. But Knopf is not impressed.
“The principal problem is in Germany, the focus is very much on renewables, but not emissions reductions,” she said, noting the country’s over-reliance on green energy sources while dismissing other ways of tackling emission levels. “They have no idea how they want to phase out coal.”
Germany was forced to confront reality last year as wind and solar power units failed to keep up with the country’s energy needs. Officials recommissioned coal power plants to prevent roving blackouts and brownouts, according to a report in 2017 from IG Bergbauchemie Energie, a German trade union representing the country’s power sector.
Green energy approaches failed to meet Germany’s stated energy goals, even after spending over $1.1 trillion. The country’s “Energiewende” plan to boost wind and solar production to fight global warming hasn’t significantly reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and may have actually caused them to go up.
As a result of green energy’s rampant unreliability, Germany plans to cap the total amount of wind energy at 40 to 45 percent of national capacity, according to a report published by the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung.
Read more at Daily Caller
Greenpeace go take a hike
Merkel’s beer is emitting CO2 .
My!, What a travesty……………….
Her Green tenacity was a virtue. Now her willingness to compromise is what? Shrewd?
C’mon Angela, admit failure and join the human race.
It’s called saving ones political ass . Green will huff and puff a little bit but really even they are smart enough to the F out of the way of the backlash that is coming . Between the immigration tsunami
and the con-job green agenda Merkel can kiss her party’s ass good bye .
Political careers have an arc. She’s over the hump.
The hardcore Greens want all private property controled by the Useless Nations using their Biosphear Reserves since many of these Eco-Wackos beleives in this Gaia poppycock and to t hem The Earth Owns Us not We Own the Earth
One thing to keep in mind is that Chancellor Angela Merkel believes in the climate change fraud as much as she ever did. She is backing off on the 2020 goals because they don’t have a choice. Green energy simply is not adequate.
Chancellor Merkel will have lots of time for drinking soon enough .
Maybe she can toast all those who died from fuel poverty as a result of misguided save the planet complete BS . Unfortunately most politicians that create a cluster F aren’t around to clean up the mess they made . She will be hauling down brewskies and a great big fat pension while the younger generation deals with her parties fall out . Maybe she can sue EXXON too for selling their legally available (and necessary ) products .