- Christoph Bals: “Energy autarky would be more problematic for peace policy than cooperation”
- Lithium mining in Spain: Climate protection at the expense of the environment?
- Berlin refuses to join taxonomy lawsuit
- AT&T and Verizon reject postponement of 5G rollout in US
- Municipalities call for legislation to speed up climate protection
- Profile: EPC Director General Fabian Zuleeg
“Mutual dependencies” in energy supply – that is not a bad starting position for Christoph Bals, political director of Germanwatch. On the contrary: He does not think much of “energy autarky”; close cooperation is one way to create stability. But in contrast to past experiences with the purchase of oil and gas, there must be cooperation on equal footing in the future. The energy partnership recently concluded with South Africa could serve as a model here. In an interview with Timo Landenberger and Lukas Scheid, Bals talks about how he views the climate policy challenges of the year and his position in the current taxonomy debate.
If the government in Spain has its way, the country should become the center of electromobility in Europe. Meanwhile, the EU is advocating for local metal extractions, which are crucial for implementing the Green Deal. It seems to work out perfectly that there are large lithium deposits in the Extremadura region. The Valdeflores mine, for example, is estimated to hold 1.6 million tons of lithium carbonate – enough to produce ten million batteries for EVs. But citizens’ initiatives and local politicians oppose the mine. Isabel Cuesta analyzes the conflict.
Sarah Schaefer
Feature
Christoph Bals: “Energy autarky would be more problematic for peace policy than cooperation”
The EU has passed the Climate Change Act and also backed it up with measures in the form of the Fit for 55 package. In Glasgow, there were promising announcements on climate neutrality. In Germany, a new government was sworn in that is committed to climate protection. Nevertheless, we are still a long way from the 1.5 degree target. What is your bottom line?
I don’t usually think in these categories. Fundamentally transforming Germany, the EU, and global society within a few years is no walk in the park. But the fact that, driven on the one hand by the Paris Agreement and on the other by civil society that has taken to the streets, we have agreed on greenhouse gas neutrality for 2050 and also serious targets for 2030, and that the implementation packages are increasingly on the table, that is, first of all, a huge success.
At the same time, it is clear that this is not yet enough for a 1.5-degree strategy. That is why we need immediate programs to reduce emissions as quickly as possible. Only if we succeed quickly will we have a chance of starting to prepare the tightening of targets at EU level from 2022. By the next climate summit in autumn, the EU needs a strategy to close the remaining gap to the 1.5 degree limit, which I assume will be closed, through international cooperation with partners from the Global South.
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