Audit report finds German green transition lags behind targets
Release time：2024-05-21 06:45:29 Source：Culture Cross news portal
-
FRANKFURT, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Germany's green energy transition is facing challenges as a review report of its progress over the past three years showed that the government lags far behind its targets. However, the economic minister argued that the government is making progress. The report released by the German Federal Court of Auditors (Bundesrechnungshof) on Thursday said that the security of the power supply in Germany is jeopardized, electricity is expensive, and the federal government is unable to comprehensively assess the impact of the energy transition on the landscape, nature and the environment. The German government has set a goal of covering around 80 percent of electricity consumption with wind, water and solar energy by 2030, which was approved by the German parliament in 2022. But in the past three years, the expansion of renewable energies and the electricity grids are progressing very slowly and there isn't enough additional generation capacity to meet the demand, said the report. The report noted that Germany urgently needs to expand its grid by 6,000 km, seven years behind schedule. In particular, the targets for the expansion of onshore wind energy will not be achieved in the foreseeable future, said the report. In 2023, only half of the onshore wind projects required were awarded, it is therefore not realistic to expect the backlog to be made up this year, said Kay Scheller, president of the Federal Court of Auditors. He also underscored the deficiency of monitoring mechanisms to track the consequences of the energy transition for land, biodiversity and other environmental damage. Dismissing the findings of the review, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the report "does not reflect reality," according to German media outlet Focus Online. Germany may not have completed the transition, but progress is being made, and "the expansion has gained momentum," Habeck said. The report also slammed the federal government for failing to reduce subsidies for fossil fuel products, which are believed to be counterproductive to the energy transition strategy in Germany and the European Union (EU). Given that Germany's economy is caught in stagnation and a robust recovery remains at large, subsidies in the energy sector are widely considered a forceful tool to keep the threat of industrial exodus at bay. Habeck has recently warned again that the German economy is in bad shape. As a strong advocate for energy subsidies, Habeck has complained about the elevated energy prices that could force companies in Germany to shift production to lower-cost destinations. The federal government has approved a subsidy plan worth 5.5 billion euros as grid fees in 2024 to keep electricity prices in check. Germany emerged as one of the worst performers in terms of economic growth in the EU last year. Germany's economy shrank by 0.3 percent in 2023, in contrast to the 0.5 percent growth in the euro area. Habeck said last month that the economic growth forecast for Germany will be slashed down to 0.2 percent in 2024, notably lower than the previous projection of 1.3 percent.
（Editor:Fu Bo）
- Previous：Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient
- Next：Amtrak train hits pickup truck in upstate New York, 3 dead including child
Related articles
- Who is Jacob Zuma, the former South African president disqualified from next week's election?
- Dortmund, Sancho find themselves in a quandary
- Scaloni: Messi key in decision to remain Argentina boss
- Jiangsu edge Guangzhou to snap 17
- Uber and Lyft say they'll stay in Minnesota after Legislature passes driver pay compromise
- Ice and snow festival opens in Beijing
- Shanghai sides cruise to victories in CSL
- British troops may be tasked with delivering Gaza aid, BBC report says
- Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
- Chinese diplomat calls for enhancing China
- US overdose deaths dropped in 2023, the first time since 2018
- Housekeeper contest of boutique homestays held in Beijing's Yanqing district
- Humanitarian crisis in Gaza exposes Western double standard on human rights
- Yokohama F. Marinos edge Shandong in ACL thriller
- Uber and Lyft say they'll stay in Minnesota after Legislature passes driver pay compromise
- Greece expects more Chinese visitors with extra direct air links
- Housekeeper contest of boutique homestays held in Beijing's Yanqing district
- China opens 829 sites providing free pneumoconiosis treatment
- Bella Hadid goes braless in a thigh
- Inside the lives of the Grand National WAGs: Horse racing's star
Random recommendation
Coronavirus China: Wuhan lab staff 'had virus symptoms before first confirmed cases'Travel influencer reveals genius hack for getting toddlers to sleep on flights Taiwan's Golden Horse a holdout for uncensored Chinese cinemaGreen MP Efeso Collins dies during charity runMorphine shortage across New Zealand impacting patients in palliative care, new stock months awayClimate Change Shrinks Nevada's First BigQanon: Conspiracy theories weaponised by Russia and China around US Capitol violenceWhat Is Gambling Addiction and How Widespread Is It in US? How to get around the great Easter flight ripDonald Trump immunity claim rejected by US court
- Copyright © 2024 Powered by Audit report finds German green transition lags behind targets ,Culture Cross news portal sitemap