As Europe’s politicians decide about the bloc’s energy future (some even call it an Energy Union) on Thursday and Friday this week, the German government appears to have left the stage.
Earlier this month, the European Commission has given the green light to unprecedented public subsidies for the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation. Without the Commission’s blessing for the use of public money that plan would be untenable. Austria, a non-nuclear country, has announced that it will fight the Commission decision in the European Court. It stands a good chance, because this deal breaks too many EU state aid rules.
But Merkel’s government, which has decided that nuclear power is too dangerous to be exploited within Germany’s own borders, is standing idly by while EU state aid laws are trampled on in the interest of promoting nuclear energy in other nations. The outgoing Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger, from the same party as Angela Merkel, apparently voted in favour of the plan.
Angela Merkel and other national leaders will decide this week on the future of renewable energy in Europe. Current proposals for a 27 per cent share of renewables by 2030 are so unambitious that the same amount of renewable energy could be achieved without any new energy targets at all.
But Merkel’s government, which has decided that renewable energy is the future for Germany, has publicly endorsed that meaningless 27% target, thereby siding with the pro-nuclear governments of Britain and France. It has failed to rally support for a higher target, which would be good for the environment and Europe’s industry.
Does the German government really think that its citizens want Germany to become an island powered by solar panels that is surrounded by a sea of coal and nuclear plants? Or would German citizens much rather see their Chancellor use her significant power in Europe to green the energy generated and consumed by a whole continent?
Franziska Achterberg is Greenpeace EU energy and transport policy director