Sören Amelang

3 days ago | cleanenergywire.org | Sören Amelang

Germany's new economy and energy minister, Katherina Reiche from chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), has ruled out the country's return to conventional nuclear power plants. "The phase-out has been completed. A return to nuclear power requires not only money, but also the trust of the companies that are supposed to make this commitment, and not just for one legislative period, but beyond," Reiche said.

1 week ago | cleanenergywire.org | Sören Amelang

The election of Friedrich Merz as Germany’s new chancellor in an unprecedented second parliamentary vote was greeted with relief by the country’s energy, industry, and environmental associations. But the groups also warned that Merz’s humiliating defeat in the first round must not foreshadow disunity in the coalition government, given that decisive action was needed to further Germany’s energy transition and meet climate targets.

1 week ago | cleanenergywire.org | Sören Amelang

Transport Cars Government The choice for Germany’s new transport minister suggests the country is unlikely to face a profound policy overhaul to get the emission-intensive sector on track to meet ambitious 2030 climate targets. Long-serving conservative parliamentarian Patrick Schnieder is an outspoken advocate of improving road and rail infrastructure in rural areas, and has shown little appetite for climate-centric reforms.

1 month ago | cleanenergywire.org | Sören Amelang

Germany’s prospective government has agreed in its coalition treaty to continue the country’s landmark energy transition without major adjustments and stick to existing climate targets. Faced with economic stagnation and the geopolitical shake-up after the US election, the coalition parties – the conservative CDU/CSU alliance under chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz and the Social Democratic Party – have put more emphasis on economic competitiveness than climate action.

1 month ago | cleanenergywire.org | Sören Amelang

Germany’s prospective coalition government has agreed to continue the country’s landmark energy transition without major adjustments, and stick to existing climate targets. In their coalition treaty, conservatives and Social Democrats put a stronger emphasis on economic competitiveness, while slightly toning down climate ambitions. In this collection, we present first reactions from industry, think tanks, and NGOs to the agreement.