School is slowly starting again in Germany after the summer break – but the grades for climate action are hardly improving. Or would you praise a child who comes home with an F when many others have Bs or even As? In any case, German climate policy is still “inadequate” according to the experts of the Climate Acton Tracker. While progress has been made in the area of renewables, the situation in the transport sector in particular is rather poor – Nico Beckert has the details.
Brazil, Singapore and Canada, whose ratings have also been updated, are no better off. In line with this, Bernhard Pötter looks at what kind of climate protection measures really work globally. The dilemma: climate protection via taxes and price signals is particularly efficient – but such instruments tend to be unpopular with the population.
We also analyze where skilled workers for the energy transition could come from in Germany and what global warming has to do with elephants being killed in Namibia. And Malte Kreutzfeldt explains how grid charges will soon become fairer.
We’ll keep working on it for you!
Even after almost three years of the self-proclaimed “progress coalition” of SPD, Greens and FDP, Germany’s climate policy is still rated as “inadequate” by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT). Some of the latest political measures are rated positively: According to the CAT, the energy transition is progressing relatively well and has recently been accelerated. However, the coalition government is making too little progress in the transport and building sectors.
In a recently published update, CAT analysts from the organizations Climate Analytics and New Climate Institute warn that the German government is in danger of falling just short of its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 65%. Surprisingly, even as a pioneer in climate financing, Germany would have to triple its financial support for climate protection in poorer countries in order to contribute its “fair share”. Furthermore, the German government’s climate target is not ambitious enough.
According to the Climate Action Tracker, the traffic light coalition has made some progress in climate policy since taking office in 2021:
The German government has accelerated the energy transition:
However, according to CAT, there are still major tasks ahead:
In terms of industrial policy, the CAT highlights the recently introduced climate action agreements. They could encourage companies to invest earlier in new, expensive technologies to reduce emissions because the climate protection agreements mitigate some of the investment risks. This is important because the industrial sector must “reduce the consumption of fossil fuels much more quickly and carry out the electrification of processes much faster”, according to the CAT.
Without the agreements, there is a risk that companies will invest too late because they are waiting for a price reduction for new technologies. However, the first two rounds of climate action agreements cost almost €20 billion. It is “unclear how long the federal budget will be able to support such a cost-intensive measure“, according to the CAT analysts.
According to CAT, the transport sector is one of the biggest problem sectors. If emissions in the sector do not fall quickly, “drastic and disruptive measures such as extremely high CO2 prices or driving bans” will have to be introduced in 2030. Otherwise, the transport sector would also miss its long-term climate targets. The German government must develop and implement a transport sector strategy. The CAT analysts criticize:
The CAT praises the fact that the truck toll is to be increased and the revenue used to expand the rail infrastructure. However, there is still a large gap in the financing of the €86 billion that are to be invested in the rail infrastructure by 2030. Only half of the money has already been made available or planned.
It is surprising that Germany’s climate financing was also only rated as “inadequate“. With around six billion euros a year, Germany is already one of the pioneers in financing climate protection in poorer countries. According to CAT analysts, however, the German government would have to triple this contribution in order to do its “fair share”. The CAT analysts also call on Germany to send clear signals against new gas infrastructure at home and abroad.
The Climate Action Tracker analysts also criticize the fact that Germany’s climate targets are “still not 1.5-degree compatible”. The German government must therefore not only do more to achieve its climate target for 2030, but also “further increase its ambition” in order to keep the goals of the Paris Agreement achievable.
To achieve a 1.5-degree path by 2030, Germany would have to, according to Climate Analytics:
CAT has also reassessed the climate measures of Brazil, Singapore and Canada. Read about the rating below in the News.
According to new studies, parliaments and governments are apparently facing a dilemma in the search for effective climate policy measures. On the one hand, there are indications that a mix of different measures brings the greatest reductions in emissions and that political decisions are the most important factor in achieving ambitious climate targets. On the other hand, surveys show that an important part of these measures, namely price signals, are unpopular with the population.
A recent study led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK and the Mercator Institute MCC has investigated which measures are effective. Using artificial intelligence, the researchers analyzed OECD datasets on around 1,500 climate policy measures implemented in 41 countries worldwide between 1998 and 2022. The result: only 69 of these ideas led to significant emission reductions of between 600 million and 1.8 billion tons of CO2.
The study found that dirigiste “command and control” measures were used most frequently in all sectors except transport, with 270 cases. Market-based solutions are preferred in industrialized countries, most frequently in the transport sector. And preferably as subsidies, while CO2 prices were only implemented 116 times. According to these calculations, the most successful measures with the greatest CO2 savings come from these sectors:
48 successful models came from industrialized countries, 21 from emerging and developing countries. And 70 percent of these consisted of two or more measures, according to the study – a good example is the minimum carbon price in the UK, which was coupled with limits for air pollutants, quotas for renewables and a coal phase-out. “In most cases, we found that the effect was greater when a measure was part of a mix than when it was implemented alone”, it says.
“Various popular instruments such as bans, building standards, efficiency targets or subsidies are either only discovered in combination with mixes of measures or have less effect when implemented alone“, the authors write. The big exception: taxes: “Taxes stand out as the only measure that achieves almost equal or greater effects in all sectors when implemented alone.” The study concludes that a CO2 price promises the most success in industrialized countries. In emerging countries, on the other hand, it is regulation through rules.
The study was criticized for focusing on short-term successes in CO2 reduction, while climate protection measures have a long-term effect. In addition, a more precise distinction should be made between the exact CO2-reducing effects of funding programs.
However, national governments are still the most important actors in the introduction and implementation of climate protection, according to another study. The research group investigated the most important obstacles to meeting global climate targets. The result: The “most ambitious scenario” of 1.6 degrees of warming with “low overshoot” is still possible with a probability of 50 percent – but if the “obstacles, especially in the institutional dimension” are included, these chances drop to between five and 45 percent.
To this end, the study investigated which dimensions increase the feasibility of ambitious temperature targets according to the IPCC – for geophysical, technological, institutional, socio-cultural and economic reasons. One result: The difficulties on the way to a 1.6-degree target hardly stem from the technological and economic area – but from the question of whether these measures can be implemented politically and institutionally by those in power. “The decisive factor is no longer the technological implementation of climate neutrality”, the Carbon Brief information service quotes an author of the study, “it is more about the ability of governments to ramp up climate policy as quickly as possible“.
However, it is precisely this combination – governments have to make the key decisions and the most effective way to do this is a mix of instruments, which in industrialized countries is primarily based on a rising CO2 price – that may lead to a dilemma for climate policy. Surveys show that climate policy in Germany is still supported by a large majority of the population. However, the choice of instruments shows that higher CO2 prices are not popular.
For example, a survey conducted by the ifo Institute found that the general public had significantly different views on the best way to protect the climate than the experts. Many respondents found subsidies for climate-friendly behavior (EV premium) attractive; price signals such as higher petrol costs, on the other hand, were unpopular. According to the survey, companies in particular should pay for investments in climate neutrality, followed by the public sector – and only a small proportion of private households. While eco-subsidies were approved by 28% of people, only 8% voted in favor of a CO2 price.
This trend is also repeatedly confirmed by other studies: Government spending on better public transport or the expansion of renewables and electricity grids is popular. In contrast, many people reject instruments that interfere with their lifestyle and their wallets: Banning new combustion engines, replacing heating systems, higher prices – in other words, the very instruments that, in various combinations, apparently allow governments to achieve maximum effect on climate action at minimum cost.
The “Taskforce for Skilled Workers” of the Alliance for Transformation convened by the German government assumes that more than 300,000 workers will be needed to implement the energy transition by 2030. “Without sufficient and well-qualified skilled workers, Germany will not succeed in the energy transition”, it states in its report from last year.
However, tradespeople who want to work in this sector must have a range of qualifications, some of which differ significantly from the requirement profiles of other industries. This is shown by a study published on Wednesday by the German Economic Institute (IW) on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation, which was made available to Table.Briefings in advance.
The study focused on 13 trades that are central to the energy transition, including roofers, electricians and plumbing, heating and air conditioning technicians. Based on around 2.7 million online job vacancies from 2019 to mid-2023, the study analyzed which skills in these professions were in demand from the wind and solar industry and which were in demand from other industries.
This showed that the qualifications required by the wind industry only matched those of other sectors of the economy by an average of 77 percent, even though they were the same occupations. The difference was particularly large for construction electricians, where the requirements profile was only 64 percent identical.
In terms of the skills expected by the solar industry, the average overlap with the other industries was also only 85%. The biggest difference here was 71 percent for roofers.
“The significant differences in skills requirements within an occupation show that looking at the number of workers alone is not enough”, says Jana Fingerhut, labor market expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. “We don’t just need more skilled workers. They also need to have the right skills for the tasks in the wind and solar industry. These skills must first be learned.”
In order to close the “skills gap”, the study makes three recommendations for action:
“It would also be worth considering bundling skills from existing professions into a new profession of renewable energy specialist or climate specialist”, says Fingerhut. This step could make training in the energy transition “much more attractive” for young people.
Monika Hackel, Head of the Department of Structure and Organization of Vocational Education and Training at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), shares the view that the increasing demand for skilled workers must be covered by “further training and, preferably, retraining”. However, she does not believe in the creation of a separate occupational profile. The topic was already discussed intensively over ten years ago, she said when asked by Table.Briefings. “There was and still is a consensus that an isolated job profile is not expedient against the background of the industries and company structures in Germany”, says Hackel.
“Our actions are shaped by the conviction that the German principle of structuring the labor market on the basis of broad vocational training concepts has proven its worth”, says Hackel. Particularly in terms of labor market usability and the transferability of qualifications over the course of a person’s life, it has great advantages over shorter training programs that focus on individual skills and activities.
Against this background, she also sees “no deficit with regard to initial vocational training in Germany“.
The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) also appears to be satisfied with the job profiles to date. “As an important transformation and future field, the climate trade is also extremely attractive for young people“, it said in an interview with Table.Briefings.
A total of 92,000 new training contracts were concluded in this area in 2023. However, not only has the number of training places on offer increased significantly during this period, but the number of unfilled training places has also more than doubled to 11,500. There are also signs of a surplus of vacancies for 2024.
The ZDH counts almost 30 trades as part of the climate trade, which it considers to be “all indispensable for the energy transition and the implementation of the German government’s climate policy goals”. According to the association, the number of employees now stands at 3.1 million. This corresponds to an increase of more than ten percent over the past ten years.
The German Solar Industry Association (BSW) reports a similar development. “The German solar industry has gained many qualified workers in recent years and is now likely to employ around 150,000 people”, says BSW Managing Director Carsten Körnig.
The capacity situation in the trade is currently tight. However, the association estimates that around 5,000 additional companies from the traditional electrical trade have entered the solar industry in the past two years and have trained their employees for photovoltaics or are currently training them further.
A drought in Namibia is threatening the food supply of around 1.4 million people, around half the population. The country now wants to kill more than 700 wild animals, including elephants, zebras and hippos, and distribute the meat to starving people. Namibia is currently battling a drought of the century, and a state of emergency was declared in May. Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia have also declared a drought emergency. Namibia’s Ministry of Environment announced the measure last week, first reported by CNN.
83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffaloes, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeest and 300 zebras are to be killed by professional hunters in areas with sustainable game populations. This is intended to mitigate the effects of the drought by providing people with meat on the one hand. On the other hand, the pressure on water and grazing resources is to be reduced. kul
School is slowly starting again in Germany after the summer break – but the grades for climate action are hardly improving. Or would you praise a child who comes home with an F when many others have Bs or even As? In any case, German climate policy is still “inadequate” according to the experts of the Climate Acton Tracker. While progress has been made in the area of renewables, the situation in the transport sector in particular is rather poor – Nico Beckert has the details.
Brazil, Singapore and Canada, whose ratings have also been updated, are no better off. In line with this, Bernhard Pötter looks at what kind of climate protection measures really work globally. The dilemma: climate protection via taxes and price signals is particularly efficient – but such instruments tend to be unpopular with the population.
We also analyze where skilled workers for the energy transition could come from in Germany and what global warming has to do with elephants being killed in Namibia. And Malte Kreutzfeldt explains how grid charges will soon become fairer.
We’ll keep working on it for you!
Even after almost three years of the self-proclaimed “progress coalition” of SPD, Greens and FDP, Germany’s climate policy is still rated as “inadequate” by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT). Some of the latest political measures are rated positively: According to the CAT, the energy transition is progressing relatively well and has recently been accelerated. However, the coalition government is making too little progress in the transport and building sectors.
In a recently published update, CAT analysts from the organizations Climate Analytics and New Climate Institute warn that the German government is in danger of falling just short of its 2030 climate target of reducing emissions by 65%. Surprisingly, even as a pioneer in climate financing, Germany would have to triple its financial support for climate protection in poorer countries in order to contribute its “fair share”. Furthermore, the German government’s climate target is not ambitious enough.
According to the Climate Action Tracker, the traffic light coalition has made some progress in climate policy since taking office in 2021:
The German government has accelerated the energy transition:
However, according to CAT, there are still major tasks ahead:
In terms of industrial policy, the CAT highlights the recently introduced climate action agreements. They could encourage companies to invest earlier in new, expensive technologies to reduce emissions because the climate protection agreements mitigate some of the investment risks. This is important because the industrial sector must “reduce the consumption of fossil fuels much more quickly and carry out the electrification of processes much faster”, according to the CAT.
Without the agreements, there is a risk that companies will invest too late because they are waiting for a price reduction for new technologies. However, the first two rounds of climate action agreements cost almost €20 billion. It is “unclear how long the federal budget will be able to support such a cost-intensive measure“, according to the CAT analysts.
According to CAT, the transport sector is one of the biggest problem sectors. If emissions in the sector do not fall quickly, “drastic and disruptive measures such as extremely high CO2 prices or driving bans” will have to be introduced in 2030. Otherwise, the transport sector would also miss its long-term climate targets. The German government must develop and implement a transport sector strategy. The CAT analysts criticize:
The CAT praises the fact that the truck toll is to be increased and the revenue used to expand the rail infrastructure. However, there is still a large gap in the financing of the €86 billion that are to be invested in the rail infrastructure by 2030. Only half of the money has already been made available or planned.
It is surprising that Germany’s climate financing was also only rated as “inadequate“. With around six billion euros a year, Germany is already one of the pioneers in financing climate protection in poorer countries. According to CAT analysts, however, the German government would have to triple this contribution in order to do its “fair share”. The CAT analysts also call on Germany to send clear signals against new gas infrastructure at home and abroad.
The Climate Action Tracker analysts also criticize the fact that Germany’s climate targets are “still not 1.5-degree compatible”. The German government must therefore not only do more to achieve its climate target for 2030, but also “further increase its ambition” in order to keep the goals of the Paris Agreement achievable.
To achieve a 1.5-degree path by 2030, Germany would have to, according to Climate Analytics:
CAT has also reassessed the climate measures of Brazil, Singapore and Canada. Read about the rating below in the News.
According to new studies, parliaments and governments are apparently facing a dilemma in the search for effective climate policy measures. On the one hand, there are indications that a mix of different measures brings the greatest reductions in emissions and that political decisions are the most important factor in achieving ambitious climate targets. On the other hand, surveys show that an important part of these measures, namely price signals, are unpopular with the population.
A recent study led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK and the Mercator Institute MCC has investigated which measures are effective. Using artificial intelligence, the researchers analyzed OECD datasets on around 1,500 climate policy measures implemented in 41 countries worldwide between 1998 and 2022. The result: only 69 of these ideas led to significant emission reductions of between 600 million and 1.8 billion tons of CO2.
The study found that dirigiste “command and control” measures were used most frequently in all sectors except transport, with 270 cases. Market-based solutions are preferred in industrialized countries, most frequently in the transport sector. And preferably as subsidies, while CO2 prices were only implemented 116 times. According to these calculations, the most successful measures with the greatest CO2 savings come from these sectors:
48 successful models came from industrialized countries, 21 from emerging and developing countries. And 70 percent of these consisted of two or more measures, according to the study – a good example is the minimum carbon price in the UK, which was coupled with limits for air pollutants, quotas for renewables and a coal phase-out. “In most cases, we found that the effect was greater when a measure was part of a mix than when it was implemented alone”, it says.
“Various popular instruments such as bans, building standards, efficiency targets or subsidies are either only discovered in combination with mixes of measures or have less effect when implemented alone“, the authors write. The big exception: taxes: “Taxes stand out as the only measure that achieves almost equal or greater effects in all sectors when implemented alone.” The study concludes that a CO2 price promises the most success in industrialized countries. In emerging countries, on the other hand, it is regulation through rules.
The study was criticized for focusing on short-term successes in CO2 reduction, while climate protection measures have a long-term effect. In addition, a more precise distinction should be made between the exact CO2-reducing effects of funding programs.
However, national governments are still the most important actors in the introduction and implementation of climate protection, according to another study. The research group investigated the most important obstacles to meeting global climate targets. The result: The “most ambitious scenario” of 1.6 degrees of warming with “low overshoot” is still possible with a probability of 50 percent – but if the “obstacles, especially in the institutional dimension” are included, these chances drop to between five and 45 percent.
To this end, the study investigated which dimensions increase the feasibility of ambitious temperature targets according to the IPCC – for geophysical, technological, institutional, socio-cultural and economic reasons. One result: The difficulties on the way to a 1.6-degree target hardly stem from the technological and economic area – but from the question of whether these measures can be implemented politically and institutionally by those in power. “The decisive factor is no longer the technological implementation of climate neutrality”, the Carbon Brief information service quotes an author of the study, “it is more about the ability of governments to ramp up climate policy as quickly as possible“.
However, it is precisely this combination – governments have to make the key decisions and the most effective way to do this is a mix of instruments, which in industrialized countries is primarily based on a rising CO2 price – that may lead to a dilemma for climate policy. Surveys show that climate policy in Germany is still supported by a large majority of the population. However, the choice of instruments shows that higher CO2 prices are not popular.
For example, a survey conducted by the ifo Institute found that the general public had significantly different views on the best way to protect the climate than the experts. Many respondents found subsidies for climate-friendly behavior (EV premium) attractive; price signals such as higher petrol costs, on the other hand, were unpopular. According to the survey, companies in particular should pay for investments in climate neutrality, followed by the public sector – and only a small proportion of private households. While eco-subsidies were approved by 28% of people, only 8% voted in favor of a CO2 price.
This trend is also repeatedly confirmed by other studies: Government spending on better public transport or the expansion of renewables and electricity grids is popular. In contrast, many people reject instruments that interfere with their lifestyle and their wallets: Banning new combustion engines, replacing heating systems, higher prices – in other words, the very instruments that, in various combinations, apparently allow governments to achieve maximum effect on climate action at minimum cost.
The “Taskforce for Skilled Workers” of the Alliance for Transformation convened by the German government assumes that more than 300,000 workers will be needed to implement the energy transition by 2030. “Without sufficient and well-qualified skilled workers, Germany will not succeed in the energy transition”, it states in its report from last year.
However, tradespeople who want to work in this sector must have a range of qualifications, some of which differ significantly from the requirement profiles of other industries. This is shown by a study published on Wednesday by the German Economic Institute (IW) on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation, which was made available to Table.Briefings in advance.
The study focused on 13 trades that are central to the energy transition, including roofers, electricians and plumbing, heating and air conditioning technicians. Based on around 2.7 million online job vacancies from 2019 to mid-2023, the study analyzed which skills in these professions were in demand from the wind and solar industry and which were in demand from other industries.
This showed that the qualifications required by the wind industry only matched those of other sectors of the economy by an average of 77 percent, even though they were the same occupations. The difference was particularly large for construction electricians, where the requirements profile was only 64 percent identical.
In terms of the skills expected by the solar industry, the average overlap with the other industries was also only 85%. The biggest difference here was 71 percent for roofers.
“The significant differences in skills requirements within an occupation show that looking at the number of workers alone is not enough”, says Jana Fingerhut, labor market expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. “We don’t just need more skilled workers. They also need to have the right skills for the tasks in the wind and solar industry. These skills must first be learned.”
In order to close the “skills gap”, the study makes three recommendations for action:
“It would also be worth considering bundling skills from existing professions into a new profession of renewable energy specialist or climate specialist”, says Fingerhut. This step could make training in the energy transition “much more attractive” for young people.
Monika Hackel, Head of the Department of Structure and Organization of Vocational Education and Training at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), shares the view that the increasing demand for skilled workers must be covered by “further training and, preferably, retraining”. However, she does not believe in the creation of a separate occupational profile. The topic was already discussed intensively over ten years ago, she said when asked by Table.Briefings. “There was and still is a consensus that an isolated job profile is not expedient against the background of the industries and company structures in Germany”, says Hackel.
“Our actions are shaped by the conviction that the German principle of structuring the labor market on the basis of broad vocational training concepts has proven its worth”, says Hackel. Particularly in terms of labor market usability and the transferability of qualifications over the course of a person’s life, it has great advantages over shorter training programs that focus on individual skills and activities.
Against this background, she also sees “no deficit with regard to initial vocational training in Germany“.
The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) also appears to be satisfied with the job profiles to date. “As an important transformation and future field, the climate trade is also extremely attractive for young people“, it said in an interview with Table.Briefings.
A total of 92,000 new training contracts were concluded in this area in 2023. However, not only has the number of training places on offer increased significantly during this period, but the number of unfilled training places has also more than doubled to 11,500. There are also signs of a surplus of vacancies for 2024.
The ZDH counts almost 30 trades as part of the climate trade, which it considers to be “all indispensable for the energy transition and the implementation of the German government’s climate policy goals”. According to the association, the number of employees now stands at 3.1 million. This corresponds to an increase of more than ten percent over the past ten years.
The German Solar Industry Association (BSW) reports a similar development. “The German solar industry has gained many qualified workers in recent years and is now likely to employ around 150,000 people”, says BSW Managing Director Carsten Körnig.
The capacity situation in the trade is currently tight. However, the association estimates that around 5,000 additional companies from the traditional electrical trade have entered the solar industry in the past two years and have trained their employees for photovoltaics or are currently training them further.
A drought in Namibia is threatening the food supply of around 1.4 million people, around half the population. The country now wants to kill more than 700 wild animals, including elephants, zebras and hippos, and distribute the meat to starving people. Namibia is currently battling a drought of the century, and a state of emergency was declared in May. Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia have also declared a drought emergency. Namibia’s Ministry of Environment announced the measure last week, first reported by CNN.
83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffaloes, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeest and 300 zebras are to be killed by professional hunters in areas with sustainable game populations. This is intended to mitigate the effects of the drought by providing people with meat on the one hand. On the other hand, the pressure on water and grazing resources is to be reduced. kul
