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Six questions to… …

Rebecca Harms and Günther Oettinger’s views on EU energy policy couldn’t be more different

18.03.2014
© Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images - Günther Oettinger

Is the European Union pursuing climate policy 
with the proper urgency?

REBECCA HARMS “No, the current snail’s pace of action in the EU is by no means a proper response to the challenges and dangers of climate change. That’s not the way to reach the target of limiting climate change to a two-degree rise in global temperature. The European Commission and the governments of the member states appear to have completely lost sight of this goal.”

GÜNTHER OETTINGER “Definitely. Compared with the base year 1990, we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% within three decades, i.e. by 2020. At the beginning of 2014, the European Commission proposed a further 20% reduction in emissions, to be achieved within a single decade – from 2020 to 2030. That is definitely stepping up the pace, regardless of whether a global climate protection agreement comes into being.”

The Commission plans to increase 
the share of renewables in the 
energy mix to 27% by 2030 – a level 
already reached in some countries. 
Has the EU lost its ambition?

REBECCA HARMS “The EU always wanted to be a pion­eer in climate protection. Federal Chancellor 
Angela Merkel also took up the cause long ago. But at present national interests count more than when the common goals for 2020 were adopted. It’s true that some countries are pursuing the target of increasing the share of renewables by 2020, but there has been no fundamental change of course in 
energy generation. We need ambitious goals here for 2030. But that would mean discarding the old mix of coal and 
nuclear power, which is not something the governments of countries like the United Kingdom and Poland are yet ready to accept.”

GÜNTHER OETTINGER “On the contrary. If we want to achieve a 27% share of renewables in final energy consumption, that means, to all intents and purposes, a 45% share of renewable energy sources in electricity production. That’s a highly ambitious target – and one that puts 
Europe well ahead of the United States or Asian countries. The European Commission proposes making this target binding at European level. If the EU member states entrust us with this task, the European Commission will do all it can to reach this target. Another point is that the Commission is seeking to 
Europeanize funding in the medium term. We need a Euro­peanization of funding regulations for renewable energy, which have so far only been effective at national level. If you want to produce 45% of electricity from renewables in 28 fragmented markets that are all pursuing different objectives, that’s going to be highly detrimental to the European Single Market. Our proposal for increasing the share of renewables is designed to strengthen the Single Market and is binding on Council, Parliament and Commission.”

The goal of increasing the share of renewables is, for the first time, not binding on the individual member states. Isn’t there a danger that some countries will give greater weight to industrial interests?

REBECCA HARMS “A European target without national commitments poses a number of questions about the target’s implementation. It means that each country can present its own plans, and the 
European Commission has little legal recourse against those plans that fail to provide for a substantial increase in the share of renewable energy. There can be no penalties without concrete targets. That not only destroys the idea of a common European energy transition, it also fails to create certainty for those wishing to invest in the renewable 
energy sector.”

GÜNTHER OETTINGER “Even the 20% target, which is the average we’ve set ourselves for 2020 EU-wide, is not going to be reached across the board. For instance, Malta’s share of renewables still stood at zero a few years ago; now it’s aiming at 10%. In Austria, Finland, 
Sweden and Denmark, the share is well over 20%. The potential varies greatly from country to country. Denmark – a country with little industry and optimal wind conditions – can meet higher targets than Hungary or Slovakia. We need to take a more nuanced view in order to identify the best locations for generating solar or wind energy – locations that are really cost-efficient.”

How can climate policy be balanced with the strategy of comprehensive reindustrialization being pursued by the EU?

REBECCA HARMS “Many countries are still using the crisis as a pretext for not pursuing an ambitious 
climate policy. Regulations are seen as a burden on industry rather than as an opportunity. But quite the reverse is true: ambitious climate and energy goals offer the potential to boost innovation and create jobs in future-orien­ted, sustainable sectors, especially in regions particularly hard hit by the economic crisis. Re­industrialization cannot mean simply reviving an ailing, dirty, climate-damaging system. The proposed targets place hardly any restrictions on industry. Also, the glut of emission trading certificates means that very little will be demanded of industry in the coming decades.”

GÜNTHER OETTINGER “To be successful, an economy needs an industrial sector. We need the production of primary materials here in the European Union. It makes no sense, even in climate terms, to drive industry away from here and import steel, aluminium and copper from countries where they are mined and manufactured in conditions that are less environmentally friendly than in Europe. Climate is global and indivisible.”

Does the EU offer companies sufficient incentives to 
invest in energy-saving technologies?

REBECCA HARMS “No. Energy saving in particular is an area where we are making no headway. Following the failure to make the 20% energy savings target for 2020 binding, it is now unlikely to be met. The Euro­pean Commission has evidently not learned from this mistake. For the time being, it has set no binding energy savings target at all for 2030. That’s not the way to stimulate innovation or investment in this sector.”

GÜNTHER OETTINGER “The high gas and electricity prices in Europe mean that all companies will try to cut their consumption and boost production efficiency. Our laws also prescribe comprehensive measures to promote energy efficiency, e.g. energy audits that objectively identify the potential for energy savings in business processes. We believe that buildings in particular are an area where there is still great room for improvement in terms of energy efficiency. That’s why the EU budget is earmarking more than two billion euros annually up to 2020 to co-finance building renovation measures.”

Federal Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has 
presented his plans for reform of the Renewable 
Energy Sources Act (EEG) – the so-called EEG 2.0. 
Is Germany on the right path here?

REBECCA HARMS “The energy transition and climate protection are two sides of the same coin. That’s why capping the development of renewables and at the same time failing to limit the use of coal is sending the completely wrong message. What we need is the unrestricted development of cheap renewable energy. We should, in principle, continue to develop wind power in rural areas, though its remuneration could be cut more sharply than planned in particularly lucrative locations. We need fair energy prices. That means markedly reducing the huge number of exemptions for industry. The costs of the energy transition should not be borne by private consumers alone.”

GÜNTHER OETTINGER “Initially, the EEG was right to call for an increase in the share of photovoltaic energy – from 0 to 3%. In my view, though, the current pace at which Germany is seeking to increase the share of renewables is too expensive and makes no sense, especially given the lack of grids and ways of storing the energy. The process has been pushed ahead too quickly. The EEG 2.0 is the first step towards a necessary fresh start.”

REBECCA HARMS, Chair of the Group of the Greens in the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament since 2004 and Chair of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance since 2009. Harms, whose political activities date back to the anti-nuclear movement, is a Substitute Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

GÜNTHER OETTINGER, European Commissioner for Energy

Before taking up the post of European Commissioner in 2010, the CDU politician was Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg for five years. As Energy Commissioner, in 2011 he presented the Roadmap 2050, which outlines new energy models for the EU.