The German Climate Action Plan 2050 () is a climate protection policy document approved by the German government on 14November 2016. The plan outlines measures by which Germany can meet its various national greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals through to 2050 (see table) and service its international commitments under the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), under minister Barbara Hendricks, led the development of the plan. The plan was progressively watered down since a draft was first leaked in early May 2016. Projections from the environment ministry in September 2016 indicate that Germany will likely miss its 2020 climate target.
The Climate Action Plan2050 should not be confused with an earlier document, the Climate Action Programme2020 (), approved in December 2014 and which only covers the period until 2020. In early 2017 it was agreed that the 2020 Programme would be scrapped.
Climate targets
Germany announced the following official greenhouse gas emissions targets on 28September 2010.
+ Greenhouse gas policy targets for Germany (with actual figures for 2014) Target 2014 2020 2030 2040 2050 Greenhouse gas emissions (base year 1990) −27.0% −40% −55% −70% −80 to −95% The 2030 value is also the 2016 Paris Agreement nationally determined contribution (NDC) for Germany.
Regarding European Union policy, in October 2009 the Council of the European Union agreed that the appropriate abatement objective for Europe and other developed economies was 80–95% below 1990 levels by 2050 (consistent with Germany). In October 2014 the European Council endorsed a binding European Union target of an at least 40% reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 relative to 1990 (less stringent than Germany).
Climate Action Programme 2020
The Climate Action Programme2020 () is an attempt by Germany to help meet its official 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reductions target after a 'climate gap' had been identified. Projections from 2013 show Germany may miss its 40% reductions target by about without additional measures. The first draft of the programme was released in 2014. How best to control the contribution from coal-fired generation remained controversial, but economy and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) dismissed plans aired in his ministry in October 2014 to retire 10GW of coal capacity.
The Climate Action Programme2020 was approved on 3December 2014. The official document is available in English.
The most significant part of the new package is a pledge to cut electricity sector emissions substantially by 2020. To do so, the government proposes to cap emissions from the sector at 22million tonnes between 2016 and 2020 or 4.4million tonnes each year. Once the cap is in place, energy companies will be allocated allowances based on their current emissions. If they cut their emissions by a greater amount, they may be able to sell their surplus to other companies. The package also contains measures to improve energy efficiency and the transport sector. Environmental groups criticized the package for not going far enough in reducing the reliance on coal-fired generation.
In December 2015, the government remained confident that its 2020 emissions target will be met through the measures contained in the programme and elsewhere. However, a government report, released on 30September 2016, shows that Germany will meet its 2020 greenhouse gas commitments only under "a best case scenario". The report, prepared for the European Union, is available in German. The analysis projects Germany's greenhouse gas emissions forward for the next 20years.
A PwC report from November 2016 evaluates the economic and ecological effects of the Climate Action Programme2020 and finds that the economic benefits outweigh the costs of the proposed measures. PwC reference: 0.0753813.001. Based on the report, environment minister Barbara Hendricks said in a press release that "the programme will create additional jobs and a GDP increase of 1% by 2020".
In early 2017, the government agreed to scrap the 2020 plan entirely.
Development of the Climate Action Plan 2050
The history of the Climate Action Plan2050 is quite involved. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) is the lead agency for the plan, under the direction of environment minister Barbara Hendricks (SPD). A novel public consultation process was utilized to collect ideas from state and city governments, advocacy groups, and citizens and these ideas were then used to help create the first version. Internal drafts of the plan were leaked three times to the media in 2016, the first in early May, the second in late June, and the third in early November.
Coalition agreement: 2013
The notion of a climate action plan arose from the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU, and SPD parties in 2013. The agreement stated:
Public consultation: 25 June 2015 – 19 March 2016
A public consultation with stakeholders began on 2015 with a Kick-off Conference in Berlin. A discussion paper for this exercise was dated 9June 2015 and is available in English. The consultation process involved a series of meetings with states (), municipalities, associations, and citizens, with delegates selected to represent these various groupings in subsequent forums. The process was organized by the Wuppertal Institute and the dialog agency IFOK. Corporate website. The resulting proposals for action were collated and presented at a meeting at the environment ministry (BMUB) on 2016. The final report is available in German. This input was used to help create the first draft of the Climate Action Plan2050. The German government also explained its public participation process at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference () on 9December 2015. The design of the consultation process was novel for Germany. An explanatory video from the BMUB is available.
First leaked draft: early May 2016
A draft of the plan was leaked to media for the first time in early May 2016. It was the result of consolidating a long catalog of measures from the consultation process. The leaked plan included proposals for:
ecological tax reform and the internalization of environmental costs climate friendly investment reducing emissions from coal and a phase-out of coal () well before 2050 making both old and new buildings climate-neutral the digitalisation and electrification of the transport sector a floor price for carbon and climate-aware investment a reduction in the numbers of ruminant animals and for the public to eat less meat the use forests as carbon sinks and the renaturalisation of moorlands for the same purpose the investigation of a new national welfare index the embedding of climate protection in local and regional public services
The plan also suggested a "pluralistic" (meaning diverse groups are represented) commission be established, tasked with developing a coal phase-out plan by .
Following the leaked document, state governments became increasingly concerned that they were being railroaded into climate change goals that could damage their regional economies.
Second leaked draft: 21 June 2016
A draft of the plan was leaked to media for the second time in late June 2016. The draft was dated 21June 2016 and is available for download in German. This is a leaked draft. Unlike the first leak, this draft was compiled after consultation with the economics and energy ministry (BMWi).
The new draft shows that individual sectors may escape specific emissions targets and that an end date for coal-fired generation has been omitted. Earlier versions had contained sector-specific targets for energy, transport, industry, buildings, and agriculture. The energy sector which was previously slated to make a "considerable" contribution is now required to make an "adequate" contribution. Rather than saying that coal-fired generation must "end well before 2050" the new draft emphasizes that "the importance of power production from coal will decrease" and that there will be a "step-by-step reduction". The previous draft stated that the transport sector would need to deliver "disproportionately high" emissions reductions (on account of the poor performance of the sector to date), that has now diminished to an "ambitious" contribution. Other proposals remain, including the development of ecological tax reform. The plan also includes targets for modernizing the heating and cooling systems in buildings, including no new fossil-fueled heating systems in houses after 2030.
The proposal for a Commission on Climate Protection, Growth, Structural Change, and the Completion of the Energiewende () remains, but now without the specific task of developing a roadmap for the phase-out of coal.
The weakening of the plan is also a result of industry associations repeatedly criticizing sector targets and itemized measures, which they fear would harm Germany's economic performance and international competitiveness.
Official draft: 6 September 2016
An official draft was released on 6September 2016 and is available in German. This draft retains a provision for the establishment of a Commission on Climate Protection, Growth, Structural Change, and the Completion of the Energiewende.
The content however has been watered down considerably. Concrete emissions reductions targets were removed altogether. The previously leaked June 2016 draft stated that by 2030 "a large majority of newly registered cars" would need to be powered by either electricity or biofuels. However, the new draft merely states that "the government aims to significantly lower car emissions by 2030" and that electric cars can contribute to that goal.
Environmental groups have become increasingly critical of the plan as each iteration led to a watering down of its climate protection provisions. The NGOs were particularly concerned about the lack of detail concerning a coal phase-out. On 24 September 2016, Greenpeace Germany issued a report critical of the watering down of the results of the consultation process.
Cabinet deliberations: late 2016
In late 2016, the plan went to the Chancellery () to coordinate the final version to be agreed by the German cabinet ().
Media reports in late October 2016 suggest a deepening rift between the economics and energy ministry (BMWi) and the environment ministry (BMUB) over the plan and the exit process for coal-fired generation (). Economy and energy minister Sigmar Gabriel opposes the setting of a coal exit date before job alternatives for lignite workers have been determined.
A revised draft plan, circulated by the environment ministry on 4November 2016, was obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung. The plan has become more stringent and now includes passages that had earlier been removed during the negotiations between ministries. The new plan also precludes new coal-fired generation and the expansion of existing open-pit mines and calls on the government to lobby for an EU-wide floor price for auctioned EU ETS emissions allowances.
On 7November 2016, over 40 German companies, including energy suppliers EnBW and MVV Energie and network operator 50Hertz, together with Commerzbank, Deutsche Telekom, IKEA, and Hochtief, are lobbying for a more ambitious program, one which ensures that Germany's Paris Agreement commitments are met. The companies want sector-specific emissions targets for 2030 and state that "only in this way can new business models and concrete plans for decarbonisation be developed". They want the goal to be the "rapid switch to 100% renewable energy". British economist Nicholas Stern also backs a more ambitious plan. The original statement from the companies is available.