Assessment of the Results of the Commission on Structural Change

On January 26 2019, the German Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment decided that no more coal-fired power plants should be operated in Germany by 2038 at the latest. In the new In Brief "Assessment of the Results of the Structural Change" (06/2019), the Wuppertal Institute comments on the results and makes recommendations for the now necessary shaping of climate and innovation policy in Europe, Germany, and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Prof. Dr. Manfred Fischedick (Vice-President of the Wuppertal Institute), Prof. Dr. Stefan Lechtenböhmer (Director of the Division of Future Energy and Mobility Structures, Wuppertal Institute), and Dr. Stefan Thomas (Director of the Division of Energy, Transport and Climate Policy, Wuppertal Institute) discuss the Commission's determination of the specific exit date as a basis for planning security for the actors and the agreement as an important milestone for climate protection. However, they also make clear that central measures still need to be taken, as for instance the adequate decommissioning of CO2 emission certificates within the framework of the European Emissions Trading System in order to ensure that a net reduction in CO2 emissions is achieved. In addition, Manfred Fischedick points out that "it is now important to push ahead with the expansion of renewable energies to create the necessary framework conditions by expanding the electricity grid, to courageously take up the energy efficiency potential and to implement a holistic approach to the energy system transformation".

The Commission's final report and In Brief 06/2019 are available in the links below.