We were honored to have Harald Leibrecht, coordinator of transatlantic cooperation of the German government, speak recently to DCFR and American Council on Germany members. His topic of discussion was Germany’s energy policy and its transition to renewables. Nuclear power had been a sore spot with the German people for some time, but a renewed disapproval swept the country after the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in post-tsunami Japan.
Germany understands the tradeoffs of abandoning nuclear power completely after 2022, in just ten years. And Leibrecht acknowledged it is harder to actually decommission a plant versus building one anew. Part of the German rationale for embracing more renewable energy is to promote energy independence and hedge against their position as an importer of energy resources, save the brown coal supplied by the eastern part of the country. Another motivation for their pro-renewable stance is to reduce carbon emissions’ burdens for future generations as part of their climate strategy. This complements their pact with greater Europe on cleaning up and as a major global economic powerhouse with responsibilities beyond their borders. Germany also plans to raise its profile as a global green-energy tech leader, with expectations to be one of the most energy efficient countries. It’s a green-growth, low-carbon energy strategy.
This German energy experiment is “unchartered territory” as Leibrecht mentioned but they have managed to keep the lights on thusfar. If anyone can do this, it’s the Germans.
