A field of sunflowers near the Mehrum coal-fired power station, wind turbines and high-voltage lines in the Peine district of Germany on Aug. 3, 2020. Julian Stratenschulte / picture alliance via Getty Images
By Elliot Douglas
The coronavirus pandemic has altered economic priorities for governments around the world. But as wildfires tear up the west coast of the United States and Europe reels after one of its hottest summers on record, tackling climate change remains at the forefront of economic policy.
<p>The German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier made history last week by announcing the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-climate-change-co2/a-54891520" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"historic compromise" of a new climate charter</a> for Europe's economic powerhouse. Days later, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU's Green New Deal climate goals would become even more ambitious, with a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the bloc by 55% by 2030.</p><p>Germany's climate charter would bring the country in line with Brussels' plans and put Germany at the forefront of green policy. But is Altmaier's charter just political posturing?</p>
<h3>What Is the Climate Charter?</h3><p>"This is the first time the economics ministry of a major country has openly embraced policies suggested by groups like Fridays for Future," climate change policy expert Miranda Schreuers told DW. "That is really quite dramatic."</p><p>Schreuers is a professor of environment and climate policy at the Technical University of Munich, and is among those who cautiously welcome Altmaier's announcement.</p><p>Youth environmentalist movement Fridays for Future, led by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, has enjoyed widespread support in Germany — millions of people took to the streets in what became known as climate strikes last year.</p><p>The establishment of the "Charter for Climate Neutrality and Economic Strength" may indeed be a response to some of their demands. Altmaier's announcement also enshrines the EU goal of complete climate neutrality by 2050, with the application of annual goals in Germany. But prominent London-based think tank Energy Transmissions Commission <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/net-zero-emissions-mission-possible-by-2050-says-industrial-think-tank/a-54946076" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described the goal as "mission impossible" on Wednesday</a>.</p>
<div id="b8f89" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee9d985b6f927ce8f72d98cd509f2889"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306543640886599680" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We owe it to our children and grandchildren to take action now.
Cutting net EU greenhouse gas emissions by 55% com… https://t.co/qkpOUTxQHX</div> — European Commission 🇪🇺 (@European Commission 🇪🇺)<a href="https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/statuses/1306543640886599680">1600339253.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Other key points include subsidies for German businesses which use <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> sources and the introduction of a scoreboard to rate companies for how efficiently they cut emissions.</p><p>But Altmaier's most radical announcement — at least politically — was his admission that he has made mistakes by not acting faster and that the goals can only be achieved if political parties work together.</p><p>"We have failed to adequately explain our policy. A lot could have happened quicker and faster," the close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel said.</p>
<h3>Importance of the Economic Model</h3><p>Schreuers believes that getting certain key industries to work with the climate charter will be crucial to the success of Altmaier's plan.</p><p>"If we don't manage to get certain industries on board — automobile manufacturing and steel for example — then it simply won't work," she explained.</p><p>"Big industry needs to stay in the country, and it needs to become competitive and green."</p><p>Germany's reliance on high-emitting industries has long cast a shadow on its green reforms. Altmaier hopes that a reform of CO2 pricing can help improve this.</p><p>"The only concrete measure in his plan is the idea of reforming CO2 pricing," said Antje von Broock of environmental organization Friends of the Earth Germany. "And he could have done that in September 2019."</p><p>That was when Germany announced its climate package ahead of the EU's Green New Deal.</p><p>In the new green Europe, which von der Leyen wants to see as the world's first climate-neutral continent, Germany can only keep up if it protects big industry, Schreuers believes.</p>
<h3>Is Germany a World Leader for Climate Protection?</h3><p>But Schreuers also thinks that Germany's role as a world leader in this issue may have been overstated in the last few years.</p><p>"Although Germany has been seen as a leader in climate protection policy, you could argue that Germany has really been crucial in putting on the brakes," Schreuers says. "But now Germany is waking up to the reality that other parts of the world are already streets ahead of them."</p><p>China, Japan and the U.S. state of California are all in the process of developing ambitious renewable energy systems that could leave the EU, and Germany with it, trailing behind.</p><p>Schreuers also believes that this November's U.S. presidential election will be a game-changer for the EU and Germany's climate goals.</p><p>"Right now, it looks like [Democratic presidential candidate Joe] Biden will win — and he wants 100% carbon-free electricity in the U.S. by 2035," Schreuers explains. "That will change the global playing field hugely."</p>
<h3>An Early Start to the Election Campaign?</h3><p>The timing of Altmaier's announcement may also be significant, with Germany heading to the polls in less than a year.</p><p>Von Broock of Friends of the Earth Germany largely dismisses the 20-point plan as electioneering. "Peter Altmaier wants to use climate protection policy to increase his profile in the pre-election campaign."</p><p>There is all to play for in 2021 for Altmaier's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), as the enduringly popular Chancellor Angela Merkel will step down. The CDU is currently in coalition with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), but the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-greens-projected-to-gain-in-key-local-election/a-54913456" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Green party is catching up with the SPD.</a> Many national polls put the Greens as Germany's second most popular party.</p><p>"All of this means the CDU are setting themselves up for a new coalition partner — possibly the Greens," said Schreuers. The climate charter may be a concession toward this possible future pact.</p><p>Altmaier was insistent that the new charter will "cross party lines" and that the CDU is ready to work together with other parties.</p><p>For both academic Schreuers and activist von Broock, the proof will be in the achievement of the goals.</p><p>"What we need are serious social efforts, led by politicians who courageously initiate the necessary ecological and social transformation," says von Broock. "It is therefore fundamentally to be welcomed that Minister Altmaier wants to bring the economy on board. However, the 20 points of his climate charter do not go far enough."</p><p>"Germany needs to be a player in the next stage of global climate protection," Professor Schreuers explains. "If you are a player, you have more power to shape the narrative. And Germany needs to shape the narrative if it wants to remain an economic powerhouse."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-new-climate-charter-what-will-it-change/a-54957054?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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German towns like Ulrichstein, pictured, are experiencing water shortages due to wells running dry. Dirk Schmidt / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
By Wolfgang Dick
Despite the lush, verdant nature that surrounds the German town of Ulrichstein, residents here — and in the region — suffer from acute water shortages.
<p>Ulrichstein Mayor Edwin Schneider, meanwhile, is deeply concerned by his town's dire water shortage. "I never thought we would be affected like this," he told DW, even though he had heard about similar situations in surrounding regions of the state of Hesse. Other areas — from the northwestern state of Lower Saxony to municipalities in the country's east — have also reported water shortages.</p><p>For the last 100 years, the people of Ulrichstein have sourced their water from six wells that are only two to three meters deep. In recent times, these have almost dried up, delivering a mere four cubic meters of water per hour — just half of what the town of 3,000 needs. Unlike other parts of the country, where dams are used to divert drinking water to settlements, this option is not available here. The people of Ulrichstein, like 70% of people in German municipalities, must rely on groundwater.</p>
Digging Deep From Drinking Water
<p>Instead, a drilling company is set in the coming weeks to try to tap into the groundwater below the town. Water that the firm insists is there — despite criticism from geologists who say groundwater levels below Ulrichstein, the highest permanent settlement in the state at 614 meters (2,014 feet) above sea level, are insufficient for the town's needs.</p>Many Reasons for Water Shortages
<p>Schneider said the reason for his town's water shortages has to do with its geographical location. Due to the Rhine Weser watershed, he said, "water just keeps draining away, and winters have become quite mild in these parts."</p><p>This means groundwater is not being replenished during the winter months. The situation is complicated further because the nearby city of Frankfurt also taps into the local groundwater, sourcing one-third of its requirements — some 40 million cubic meters — from this region.</p><p>"I got quite angry when Frankfurt asked its residents to water the city's trees during one hot summer," the mayor admitted.</p><p>A €150,000 ($177,000) trial showed no groundwater the Ulrichstein could tap into at a depth of 120 meters. However, the drilling company found water at a depth of 200 meters. The well, which cost some €800,000 ($944,000) to drill, will only serve as an interim solution as there is not as much water as the officials hoped for, and no one knows how long before it dries up.</p><p>The municipal council is looking into alternatives to source drinking water. For this purpose, it has modernized two of its eight water treatment plants at a cost of €2 million ($2.4 million). Ulrichstein is also considering installing a 4.5-kilometer canal to the next town to source water. This endeavor, however, carries a €650,000 ($767,000) price tag.</p><p>Ultimately, the municipality decides to hire a logistics company to make six deliveries of 60,000 liters (15,850 gallons) of water each day by truck. Locals are also urged to use the precious resource sparingly by abstaining from watering their lawns or otherwise using water unnecessarily.</p>High Cost of Water
<p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/innovative-clean-water-technologies/a-45287950" target="_blank">Whatever option the town chooses</a>, residents will be facing higher water bills.</p><p>Local businessman Klaus Kraft is especially hard-hit by the water shortage. He has been running a laundromat for years. Each day, his business consumes about 12 cubic meters of water, less than half the 30 liters (8 gallons) it used to require. But, he said, he cannot hike up prices as this would hurt his business. Currently, sourcing and disposing of one cubic meter of drinking water costs about €10 ($12) — roughly three times what residents in other German cities pay.</p><p>A woman who has lived in the town for many years said she noticed the water shortages three years ago. "One day, the water pressure just dropped off," she said, adding that the town's calls for residents to use water sparingly are being ignored by many.</p><p>One of the more recent and visible culprits is private swimming pools appearing in many residents' backyards. According to Germany's Swimming Pool and Wellness Association, a growing number of Germans are deciding to install their own pools. One reason for this is that people who are <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/meet-the-germans-live-summer-and-vacations-in-germany/a-54081551" target="_blank">traveling less during this pandemic want to have a nice time relaxing at home</a>.</p>Gloomy Predictions
<p>Karsten Rinke, a biologist with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, says Germans will have to prepare for future water shortages. At least technological innovations and water conservation efforts have reduced the average daily water consumption in Germany from 147 to 123 liters (39 to 32 gallons) per person, says the researcher. But Germany's Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) reports that climate predictions paint a gloomy picture of the future. It warns that people in some parts of Germany could soon face problems sourcing drinking water.</p><p>German Environmental Minister Svenja Schulze has scheduled a "water summit" for spring 2021 to discuss this worrying situation with federal, state and local representatives. She wants to devise a comprehensive strategy to tackle the country's water shortage.</p>
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Swedish founder of Fridays for Future movement Greta Thunberg wears a face mask as she walks to the Chancellery to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 20, 2020. Odd Andersen / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Swedish climate leader Greta Thunberg donned a mask and joined a socially distanced Fridays for Future protest in Berlin just a day after she and three other youth activists met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government took over the European Council presidency in July, to discuss the planetary emergency.
<p>Thunberg—along with Luisa Neubauer of Germany and Anuna de Wever van der Heyden and Adélaïde Charlier, both of Belgium—met with Merkel on Thursday exactly two years after the first school strike for the climate took place, which the four activists <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/19/greta-thunberg-and-fellow-activists-decry-political-inaction-climate-crisis-after" target="_blank">noted</a> in an op-ed for the <em>Guardian</em> Wednesday that detailed their plans to share with her an <a href="https://climateemergencyeu.org/" target="_blank">open letter</a> from July, now signed by over 125,000 people, calling on European Union and global leaders to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FaceTheClimateEmergency" target="_blank">#FaceTheClimateEmergency</a>.</p><p>About 100 activists reiterated that demand with their Friday demonstration in the German capital. Tweeting about the meeting with the chancellor, Fridays for Future Berlin wrote that "conversations must be followed by deeds—that's why we take to the streets together!"</p>
<div id="dc9a2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8229fb577f8697ac42ee3e8843974dc9"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296748619522093056" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">School strike week 105. We’re back, social distant. Berlin! #climatestrike #fridaysforfuture #schoolstrike4climate… https://t.co/jcY5vVtahZ</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1296748619522093056">1598003937.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="9032c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8a0befc79f58c9dc4b239b3d6d45dada"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296733781626257408" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: Nach dem Gespräch mit Merkel gestern haben heute 100 Aktivist:innen von #FridaysForFuture zusammen mit… https://t.co/e2UwCuZtNA</div> — Fridays for Future Berlin (@Fridays for Future Berlin)<a href="https://twitter.com/FFF_Berlin/statuses/1296733781626257408">1598000400.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>After the 90-minute meeting with Merkel, Thunberg <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/greta-thunberg-climate-youth-movement-targets-angela-merkel/" target="_blank">told</a> reporters that "we want leaders to step up, take responsibility, and treat the climate crisis like a crisis."</p><p>The Swedish teenager <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-germany-greta/greta-thunberg-urges-merkel-to-get-out-of-climate-comfort-zone-idUKKBN25G1H3" target="_blank">added</a> that the Fridays for Future activists want world leaders "to dare to step out of their comfort zones, to prioritize the future ahead of us now, and to be brave enough to think long-term."</p><p>Citing a German government<a href="https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/bundeskanzlerin-merkel-trifft-vertreterinnen-von-fridays-for-future-1778472?view=renderNewsletterHtml" target="_blank"> statement </a>issued after the meeting, <em>Politico</em> <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/greta-thunberg-climate-youth-movement-targets-angela-merkel/" target="_blank">reported</a> that "the group discussed the climate priorities of the German E.U. Council presidency, the E.U.'s objective of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, and efforts to hike the bloc's 2030 emissions reduction targets."</p><p><a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-germany-greta/greta-thunberg-urges-merkel-to-get-out-of-climate-comfort-zone-idUKKBN25G1H3" target="_blank">According to</a> <em>Reuters</em>:</p><blockquote>The government spokesman said Merkel and the activists agreed that global warming posed a challenge for the world and that industrialized countries had a special responsibility to tackle it. <br><br>"The basis for this is the consistent implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement," the spokesman said.<br><br>The German government admitted earlier this week that it would have missed its climate target for 2020 if the economic havoc wrought by the coronavirus pandemic had not caused a large drop in greenhouse gas emissions.<br></blockquote><p>Neubauer <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climate-change-germany-greta/greta-thunberg-urges-merkel-to-get-out-of-climate-comfort-zone-idUKKBN25G1H3" target="_blank">told</a> journalists that Merkel "at least confirmed that she is willing to get stuff done during the [E.U.] presidency... Yet eventually, at the end of the day, it's about common budgets, it's about very clear targets, it's about numbers and figures and that we need action, more than really nice and big words."</p><p>"It became very clear that we look at the situation from different perspectives," Neubauer said of the climate crisis after the meeting. "As a physicist, [Merkel] does understand the science. As a politician, she well understands the political complexity behind that struggle. The question is now how to fill that gap."</p><p>The German activist added that "the interests of future generations have to be somehow balanced with interests of generations today—and that's a huge challenge and we're not denying that at all."</p>
<div id="1f351" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1da318c4cb38c5a6e5e7abe03d7fd66e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296809297435860992" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">During the Corona crisis, the #FridaysForFuture demonstrations could not take place. Now #climate activists, includ… https://t.co/clnemnAEmp</div> — Deutschland.de | Germany (@Deutschland.de | Germany)<a href="https://twitter.com/en_germany/statuses/1296809297435860992">1598018404.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Neubauer also shared that Fridays for Future is mobilizing another worldwide strike next month, while acknowledging challenges posed by the pandemic.</p><p>"We used to strike in masses on the streets which was for many weeks not thinkable during corona and is still a very challenging task," she noted. "We're listening to the science and we are adjusting. We're moving to spaces where we can strike safely—sometimes digitally, sometimes in smaller numbers on the streets."</p><p>"We have decided to strike again globally and safely, if possible on the streets... we're mobilizing right now for September 25," Neubauer said. "The climate crisis hasn't slowed, it's escalating. We need people to demand action and this is obviously what we keep doing."</p><p>The calls for urgent action in Berlin on Friday were echoed by other school strikers across the globe. Some participated in the weekly Fridays for Future protest digitally due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while others wore masks and took additional safety precautions like the strikers in Germany.</p>
<div id="516c1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc7d43c79b060445bfba2448e9003946"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296698566455562240" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Week 36! #schoolstrike4climate from Kenya. let's stop talking and act!Action is better than words. We cannot eat co… https://t.co/WN3Nn5db4G</div> — Dorcas Wakio (@Dorcas Wakio)<a href="https://twitter.com/WakioDorcas/statuses/1296698566455562240">1597992004.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="07915" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1e4814f20335a07c6e64eac54bdff8a6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296692265780486145" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">School has started again and we are back at the #ClimateStrike in front of the Swedish Parliament again! The strike… https://t.co/8X9zhEvlKz</div> — Isabelle Axelsson🌍 (@Isabelle Axelsson🌍)<a href="https://twitter.com/isabelle_ax/statuses/1296692265780486145">1597990502.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="ee5b3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f96586f8ace84eefa25e4f55ffaf3552"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296642301255536641" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#ClimateStrikeOnline week17 危機感を持てば、行動せずにはいられません。 危機に気づくということは行動するということです。 ※私たちの"行動しないリーダー"はまだ気候危機の深刻さを理解していないのです。… https://t.co/l0fxBus5lN</div> — Tenshin てんしん (@Tenshin てんしん)<a href="https://twitter.com/ShindoTenshin/statuses/1296642301255536641">1597978589.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="417d1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="272cf96a7e5bd51a38001515719e2f8c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1296690147270909952" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#FridaysForFuture climate strike at Sydney Town Hall https://t.co/N6DByTMqGK</div> — Fridays For Future Sydney (@Fridays For Future Sydney)<a href="https://twitter.com/fff_Sydney/statuses/1296690147270909952">1597989997.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"This is week 80 of my <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/schoolstrike4climate?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">#schoolstrike4climate</a> but are you listening?" <a href="https://twitter.com/NamugerwaLeah/status/1296723352602718208" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Leah Namugerwa, a 16-year-old in Uganda. "Whether you do or not I'll continue doing what is right for my and future generations."</p>
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Participants wearing FFP2 protective face masks watch singer Tim Bendzko perform in the RESTART-19 COVID transmission risk assessment study in a concert setting on Aug. 22, 2020 in Leipzig, Germany. Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Scientists from the German University of Halle observed conditions on Saturday at an experimental concert in the eastern city of Leipzig, where they hope to learn more about the risk of infection at large events.
<p>The study comes as events and large gatherings remain banned in Germany until at least November. Most concert organizers and entertainment industry staff have seen their work dry up in recent months.</p><p>Popular German singer Tim Bendzko volunteered to play three separate concerts over the course of the day, which would test different configurations of the event.</p>
<h3>Chasing Aerosols and Contact Tracing</h3><p>The experiment involved 2,000 concertgoers, who were mostly young, healthy and not belonging to any high-risk group.</p><p>Attendees had to provide a negative COVID-19 test result prior to the concert and their temperature was taken upon arrival at the venue. They wore FFP2 face masks during the event and were fitted with contact-tracing devices, which would complement sensors on the ceiling of the venue that collected data on their movements.</p><p>"We want to study how much contact the participants have with one another during the concert – which is actually still not clear," research lead Stefan Moritz said.</p><p>Fluorescent disinfectant was also distributed. "After the event, we can see with ultraviolet lamps which surfaces glow in particular, meaning they were touched particularly often," Moritz added.</p><p>Halle scientists also tracked the movement of aerosols; the smallest particles in the air that can carry the virus.</p>
<h3>Three Concert Scenarios</h3><p>Scientists ran three scenarios at each concert. The first scenario was meant to resemble concerts before the pandemic, without any coronavirus measures.</p><p>The second scenario involved viewers following health and safety guidelines, while the third scenario involved a reduced number of attendees who were kept 1.5 meters apart from each other.</p><p>Data collected on Saturday will be fed into a mathematical model, which should help scientists evaluate the risks of the virus spreading in a large concert venue. The results are expected this fall.</p><p>The aim of the experiments is to find out whether concerts and other large events could be allowed to resume while avoiding high infection risks.</p><p>"It's all about taking an evidence-based approach," said Michael Gekle, dean of the medical faculty at Halle University.</p>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="Berlin%E2%80%99s%20bars%20struggle%20to%20enforce%20corona%20rules" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
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Activists of Greenpeace and Fridays For Future demonstrate on a canal in front of the cooling tower of the coal-fired power plant Datteln 4 of power supplier Uniper in Datteln, western Germany, on May 20. INA FASSBENDER / AFP / Getty Images
The Bundestag and Bundesrat — Germany's lower and upper houses of parliament — passed legislation on Friday that would phase out coal use in the country in less than two decades as part of a road map to reduce carbon emissions.
<p>"The fossil age in Germany comes to an irrevocable end with this decision," said Economy Minister Peter Altmaier. Environment Minister Svenja Schulze called it a "great political success for all those who care about the climate-friendly future of our children and grandchildren."</p><p>The legislative package has two main features. The first establishes a legal avenue for the gradual reduction in emissions by 2038 at the latest, while the second targets regional economies that would be impacted by the phaseout.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-approves-coal-phaseout-by-2038/a-54040605" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646343538#/" target="_self"></a></em><em></em></p>
Preparing for the Future
<p>Coal-producing regions in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg will have access to €40 billion ($45 billion) to help absorb the impact. Those funds are also expected to go towards restructuring regional economies, re-skilling workers and expanding local infrastructure.</p><p>Financial compensation is also be available to coal plant operators who face losses as a result of the early phaseout. However, compensation is contingent on operators announcing plans by 2026 to shutter plants and cease other emissions-intensive activity.</p><p>Michael Vassiliadis, who heads the IG BCE trade union, called the measures a "historic landmark." He said the package has provided a safety net for workers affected by the phase out and would provide them with the necessary support to transition to future sectors.</p>'Historic Error'
<p>However, not everyone agrees that the measures are enough to mitigate climate change.</p><p>Environmentalist activists say the legislation falls short of its ultimate aim, with Greenpeace managing director Martin Kaiser describing it as a "historic error."</p><p>German Green party chief Annalena Baerbock said the legislation was "oblivious to the future" and instead called on the government to complete Germany's coal phase out by 2030 the latest.</p><p>Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germans-most-worried-about-refugees-climate-change/a-51947417" target="_blank">a DeutschlandTrend survey</a> found that 27 percent of Germans believe climate change is the most pressing issue facing the country, just slightly behind refugees and immigration policy.</p><p>Germany is seeking to establish a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. The European Commission has also pushed forward with similar plans for the EU.</p>From Your Site Articles
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During a protest action on May 30 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Datteln in front of the site of the Datteln 4 coal-fired power plant, Greenpeace activists projected the lettering: "Climate crisis - Made in Germany" onto the cooling tower. Guido Kirchner / picture alliance / Getty Images
Around 500 climate activists on Saturday gathered outside the new Datteln 4 coal power plant in Germany's Ruhr region, to protest against its opening.
<p>Fridays for Future, Greenpeace, as well as German groups Ende Gelände and the German Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) were represented at the protests.</p><p>During the night into Saturday, climate activists graffitied the slogan "Climate crisis, made in Germany" on the side of the tower.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-activists-protest-germanys-new-datteln-4-coal-power-plant/a-53632887" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646137253#/" target="_self"></a></em><em></em></p>
<p>The plant, owned by Dusseldorf-based energy company Uniper, began running on Saturday, after a nearly 10-year delay to its initial start date. It fired up just months after Germany unveiled a plan to phase out coal by 2038.</p>
<p>The protests were reported to be largely peaceful, despite several actions during the day-long event. One action included members of Ende Gelände swimming and using canoes in a canal used for cooling, while holding a floating banner with the slogan: "Shut it down."</p>
<div id="9e242" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="38e575ed16e09279dfea210cafaa44f0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1263057783290724353" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Klimaprotest in Zeiten von #Corona ist nicht leicht. Aber wir machen es möglich, denn notwendig ist es offensichtli… https://t.co/oKazEWwaGv</div> — Luisa Neubauer (@Luisa Neubauer)<a href="https://twitter.com/Luisamneubauer/statuses/1263057783290724353">1589971416.0</a></blockquote></div>
Climate Activists Speak Out
<p>Speaking at the protest, German Fridays for Futures climate activist Luisa Neubauer said: "It's a post-factual power plant. The facts speak for themselves." She said it was a "provocation," to mark the planned coal phaseout with a new coal power plant.</p><p>"We're going to stop this power plant, we're going to bring it to a standstill, we will win this conflict," Neubauer added.</p><p>Former miners also attended the protest. "We condemn the fact that coal mining in Germany was halted and jobs were lost, only for coal now to be imported from other countries to power Datteln 4," said Sebastian Suszka, a former workers' council member.</p><p>Greta Thunberg, founder of climate activist movement Fridays for Futures tweeted that Saturday was "a shameful day for Europe.</p><div id="e0ee4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c4980f9c8b3d58f5d4075f5174690372"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1266646886896881664" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today is a shameful day for Europe, as we open up a brand new coal power plant. We have signed up to lead the way t… https://t.co/BFX5PcGejv</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1266646886896881664">1590827125.0</a></blockquote></div>
Germany's Coal Phaseout
<p>Earlier this year, Germany announced a roadmap to see coal phased out, at the latest by 2038. It laid out plans for eight coal-fired power plants to be taken off the grid in 2020.</p><p>It was an important step for the largest contributor of carbon emissions in the EU — accounting for more than 22 percent of the bloc's CO2 emissions. Over a third of the electricity generated in Germany comes from burning coal.</p><p>Germany's coal commission has recommended that solutions be found for coal plants that are already built but not-yet-in-use to keep them from operating.<br></p><p>The state of North-Rhine Westphalia insisted that the additional carbon dioxide emissions from the new plant would be compensated by the closure of four other power plants.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Only the paper part of a drink carton would be recycled — everything else, including the plastic coating or layer or aluminum foil, would be incinerated as residual waste. tavan amonratanasareegul / Getty Images
By Jeannette Cwienk
When it comes to recycling and recyclability, very little, it seems is straightforward — even something as seemingly simple as orange juice can present a conundrum. In Germany, many smaller shops sell drinks in cartons or plastic bottles, both of which will end up in the yellow recycling bin. But how do their recycling credentials stack up?
<p>"As far as recyclability is concerned, the plastic bottle is probably slightly better because it is likely only made from one plastic, and so is easier to recycle than a multilayer material like a beverage carton," says Rolf Buschmann, waste and resource expert with the German environmental organization BUND, who worked on the group's 2019 Plastic Atlas.</p><p>He explains that only the paper part of the drink carton would be recycled <em>—</em> everything else, including the plastic coating or layer or aluminum foil, would be incinerated as residual waste.</p>
More and More Multilayer Packaging
<p>How easy is it to recognize multilayer packaging? With drink cartons, it's usually obvious that they're made from a combination of different materials, but with other products, such as candy wrappers, it's a different story.</p><p>Such packaging can be made from a complex mix of up to 10 different films of plastic, which as Joachim Christiani, managing director of German recycling institute cyclos-HTP, explains, is <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-produces-record-amount-of-packaging-waste/a-51293541" target="_blank">invisible to consumers</a>.</p><p>"In recent years there's been a trend toward so-called multilayer packaging, which is extremely light and thin. It saves material as well as CO2 emissions during transport, but can't be recycled," Christiani says.</p><p>Because it is not possible to melt the different plastics together, or — at least for now — to separate the individual films from one another at recycling plants.</p>Lack of Recycled Plastic
<p>A 2017 cyclos-HTP study into the recyclability of conventional packaging waste concluded that a third of it was not recyclable, and only 40% of the remaining two-thirds was made into plastic recyclate. The rest was used as fuel <em>—</em> in other words it was incinerated.</p><p>"There was no economic or political pressure to recycle more than this amount," Christiani says. "The prescribed recycling quotas were met, and there were not nearly enough recycling plants."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxNjYwMy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTQ4MzI5M30.HL0sO8u-CFQf1FvXt4uVkyWtp5iseVH4FmaVYGkfNEY/img.png?width=980" id="b5980" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0967b762faff5003e7a353180d4ad95e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Another 2017 study by the chemical and waste disposal industry also shows that to date, Germany has not made much use of recycled plastic. According to the findings, plastic recyclate accounted for only 12% of the total amount of plastic processed in Germany <em>—</em> just under 1.8 million tons. The share of new plastic, on the other hand, was more than 12 million tons.</p>
Room for Greenwashing
<p>According to a 2018 survey by Germany's vzbv consumer protection association, most consumers would like to see more plastic recycling, especially when it comes to packaging.</p><p>Although some products come in packaging that is advertised as being "made from recycled material," Elke Salzmann, a resource protection officer with vzbv, says that can be misleading.</p><p>"It says nothing about how much recycled material the packaging actually contains," according to Salzmann. "And it also doesn't mean that the recycled plastic comes from collected plastic waste. It could just as well come from plastic leftovers created during the production of primary plastic."</p><p>The term "ocean plastic," which some textile and shoe manufacturers use to advertise the recycled plastic in their product lines, can also be misleading, Salzmann says.</p><p><span></span>"Plastic waste from the ocean is in much too bad a state to be recycled. Instead, they use plastic waste from beaches or riverbanks."</p>Laws Against Plastic
<p>Images of garbage choking our waters and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eurythenes-plasticus-a-deep-sea-crustacean-full-of-plastic/a-52663559" target="_blank">killing marine wildlife</a> have played a key role in giving plastic a negative reputation among the public, and politicians have started to act.</p><p>Many countries worldwide have introduced bans on single-use items, and in Germany, a 2019 packaging law stipulates a plastics recycling quota of 90% from 2022, up from 36%. That said, the quota only refers to how much material has to be fed into the recycling system, not how much ultimately needs to be recycled.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxNjYxNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzE4OTE0M30.8xGfBu2brG_AIp45i_q_LxZZu0nMvlFGAEWGL93Hv6M/img.png?width=980" id="79d47" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6bc3d22db4f442dacf798ac32ccc7671" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>This may be addressed in future European Union legislation. As part of its "<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/will-trains-play-a-key-role-in-the-european-green-deal/a-52263495" target="_blank">Green Deal</a>," the European Commission <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eu-commission-aims-to-clamp-down-on-waste-with-new-law/a-52720804" target="_blank">is aiming to move toward a circular economy</a>, and has announced an action plan to conserve resources and prevent waste.</p><p>The Commission is also being advised by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) on how to establish new rules around the use of recycled materials.</p><p>The recommendations range from landfill and export bans on plastic waste and tax rebates for recycled products, to the introduction of a plastics tax and a legal minimum quota of recycled content in packaging.</p>
Rethinking the Whole System
<p>Although plastic is a very useful material, at the end of its life it causes many problems, EASAC environmental program director Michael Norton tells DW, adding that we have to rethink the whole system and completely change the way we use plastic.</p><p>Joachim Christiani says the packaging industry is starting to catch on. Around 70% of recycled mass can currently be generated from packaging, but that figure is expected to rise in the future.</p><p>"95% is quite feasible," says the engineer, adding that sorting facilities are currently undergoing improvements, while packaging design is also changing.</p>Clear Plastics Are Easiest to Recycle
<p>As things stand, PET bottles are easiest to recycle because they're not mixed with other materials. New bottles can therefore easily be made from the old ones and the recycling rate is high. But the color of the bottle can pose a problem.</p><p>Because plastic is sorted by type rather than color, if different colors of plastic are mixed, the resulting recyclate cannot be used for light-colored packaging, which many manufacturers want. The upshot is the introduction of new plastic instead.</p><p>Consumer and environmental associations have long called for recyclability, greater sorting purity and better sorting facilities, but their most important demand remains waste avoidance through reusable systems.</p><p>"Why melt down disposable bottles to make new disposable bottles when you can refill them up to 20 times?" Buschmann asks.</p>From Your Site Articles
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While the world tries to figure out how to reopen economies from COVID-19 lockdowns, the demand for any plans to include environmental considerations has increased drastically.
<p>The latest salvo came from an unlikely source: the business community. In Germany, powerful companies from a range of industries have called for any COVID-19-related state funding to be tethered to climate action, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-climatecha/german-companies-call-for-covid-19-aid-to-be-tied-to-climate-action-idUSKCN2290LI" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.</p><p>The 60 companies include ThyssenKrupp, Salzgitter, Bayer, Covestro, E.ON, HeidelbergCement, Puma, Allianz and Deutsche Telekom.</p><p>"We appeal to the federal government to closely link economic policy measures to overcome both the climate crisis and the coronavirus crisis," the 60 companies said in a letter, ahead of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, which started on Monday, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-climatecha/german-companies-call-for-covid-19-aid-to-be-tied-to-climate-action-idUSKCN2290LI" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.</p>
<p>The Petersberg Climate Dialogue will see environment ministers from 30 countries meeting in a two-day online conference in an attempt to make progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52418624" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p><p>The conference will focus on how to organize a "green" economic recovery after the global lockdowns are over. The conference will also look to build international agreement on ambitious carbon cuts despite the postponement of the key conference COP26 – previously scheduled for Glasgow in November, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52418624" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p><p>The German companies that signed the letter are adamant that environmental issues not be forgotten and put on the back burner in a short-sighted attempt to ramp economies back up, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-climatecha/german-companies-call-for-covid-19-aid-to-be-tied-to-climate-action-idUSKCN2290LI" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.</p>
<p>Already, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-coronavirus-regulating-polluters-2645582013.html" target="_self">stopped regulating polluters</a> in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The fossil fuel industry has sought government bailouts. The airline industry has lobbied to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/airlines-emissions-coronavirus-2645666607.html" target="_self">loosen its carbon restrictions</a> and has asked for waivers on jet fuel taxes. Automakers are looking for governments to relax tailpipe emissions standards. The consumer <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastics</a> industry has used the coronavirus to seek delays of plastic bag bans and it has championed single-use plastic cutlery as a more hygienic alternative to reusable forks and spoons.</p><p>However, Markus Steilemann, head of German plastics maker Covestro, argued that government action needs to include commitments to net zero emissions. "It is about making our economy more crisis-resistant and competitive with a view to a truly sustainable, climate-neutral future," he said, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-climatecha/german-companies-call-for-covid-19-aid-to-be-tied-to-climate-action-idUSKCN2290LI" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.</p>
<p>The German companies that wrote about the need for climate action pointed out that the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a> will shut down economies and industries as well.</p><p>"The pandemic highlights the vulnerability of our globalized economic system to threats that are not limited to regions or industries," the letter says, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-climatecha/german-companies-call-for-covid-19-aid-to-be-tied-to-climate-action-idUSKCN2290LI" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported. "Climate change is a comparable challenge."</p><p>Last week, on Earth Day, Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, warned that the climate crisis was a far deeper problem than COVID-19.</p><p>"The impact of the coronavirus is both immediate and dreadful," he said. "But there is another, deep emergency — the planet's unfolding environmental crisis," Guterres said, as he laid out six steps for a green recovery, according to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/un-earth-day-coronavirus-climate-crisis-2645802263.html" target="_self">EcoWatch</a>.</p>
<p>The Federation of German Industries, known as BDI, said it was committed to the European goal of climate neutrality by 2050, but it warned that governments, companies and households that are feeling pinched will have less of an appetite for thinking 30 years down the road, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-climatecha/german-companies-call-for-covid-19-aid-to-be-tied-to-climate-action-idUSKCN2290LI" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.</p><p>"The EU's Green Deal must therefore become a Smart Deal, in which growth, employment and ambitious climate protection targets are linked as efficiently as possible via an intelligent investment and relief package," said BDI deputy managing director Holger Loesch, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-climatecha/german-companies-call-for-covid-19-aid-to-be-tied-to-climate-action-idUSKCN2290LI" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>The EU seems committed to sticking to a carbon-neutral future and a green stimulus. As the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52418624" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported, the Commission's Green Deal chief, Frans Timmermans, said every euro spent on economic recovery measures after the COVID-19 crisis would be linked to the green and digital transitions.</p><p>"The European Green Deal is a growth strategy and a winning strategy," he tweeted, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52418624" target="_blank">BBC</a>. "It's not a luxury we drop when we hit another crisis. It is essential for Europe's future."</p><p>However, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52418624" target="_blank">BBC</a> noted, China seems committed to ramping up its carbon-intensive industries and President Trump has said the U.S. will prop up struggling fossil fuel firms. Even German politicians are balking at a green stimulus.</p><p>"The Green Deal was a gigantic challenge for an economy in top shape," said Markus Pieper, a German member of the European Parliament, as the BBC reported. "After the corona bloodletting, it is simply not financially viable."</p>
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In Germany's Hunsrück village of Schorbach, numerous photovoltaic systems are installed on house roofs, on Sept. 19, 2019. Thomas Frey / Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Germany's target for renewable energy sources to deliver 65% of its consumed electricity by 2030 seemed on track Wednesday, with 52% of electricity coming from renewables in 2020's first quarter. Renewable energy advocates, however, warned the trend is imperiled by slowdowns in building new wind and solar plants.
<p>The federal BDEW energy and water federation and Baden-Württemberg state's ZSW solar and hydro research center observed a 7% percent renewables jump from 44.4% in the same period last year, in comparison to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> consumption.</p><p>Wind, especially offshore wind turbines, solar panels and other sources generated 77 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) compared to 67 kWh in the first quarter of 2019.</p><p>Using the standard EU's electricity consumption measurement, Germany's total, also from conventional <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">gas</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear" target="_self">nuclear</a> plants, amounted to 148 billion kWh.</p>
<p><br>The 7% jump in renewables came despite conventional plant closures and pandemic impacts on industry, officials said, while also noting "special effects" such as record winds in February and plentiful sun in March that benefited turbines and voltaic panels.</p><p>That trend could, however, not be extrapolated for the whole of 2020, warned the BDEW and ZSW, pointing to local objectors and current investor indecision.</p><p>Some residents, arguing on health and scenic grounds, resist the building of more wind turbines and the laying of extra arterial power lines to transmit electricity captured at North Sea wind farms to Germany's industrial south.</p>
<p>The record figures stand in contrast to investment deterrents, which if not quickly removed would make Germany's target of 65% self-sufficiency unreachable, said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae.</p><p>Germany's pandemic-induced economic woes compounded the situation, Andreae added.</p><p>Given the current downturn, ZSW executive board member Frithjof Staiss contended that investors would turn to renewable energy projects that were less fraught with risk than the current "volatile share market."</p><p>The renewables record, noted the BDEW and ZSW, was achieved despite the shutdown of Germany's Philippsburg 2 nuclear power plant at the end of 2019 and the placing of brown coal power plants on standby to cover emergencies.</p><p>Using another measure, gross electricity produced, the two groups calculated that with exported electricity included in their calculation, renewable sources made up 49% of Germany's gross electricity production in the first quarter of the year.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/renewables-make-up-over-half-of-germanys-power-mix/a-52986924?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>
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By Rebecca Staudenmaier
Yannik Weis was studying abroad in the Chinese city of Wuhan when a deadly new type of coronavirus broke out. He became one of over 100 people Germany evacuated from the area over the weekend.
Although he and many other German evacuees are feeling healthy and in good spirits, Weis told DW on Monday that coming back to Germany in light of the outbreak had been "stressful."
<p>He and 114 other evacuees are being kept in quarantine at a military base in the town of Germersheim, which is 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Frankfurt. Weis said that they've been treated well at the base and that there "is a lot of medical support."</p><p>"If we leave our rooms, we have to wear a mask. Of course we are allowed to go outside to get some fresh air, but all the time we have to wear masks," Weis said.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-german-evacuation-flight-from-china-carried-two-infected-people/a-52229955" target="_blank">Two of the German evacuees</a> who were on the flight with Weis ended up testing positive for the virus and are currently being treated at a hospital in Frankfurt.</p><p>"Everybody in the airplane wore masks all the time. So I think the risk of getting infected there was very very small," Weis said.</p><p>He added that he thinks the quarantine is a necessary step in order to stop possible spread of the outbreak.</p>
<h3>Empty Streets 'but No Panic' in Wuhan</h3><p>Prior to the outbreak and the subsequent orders to remain in doors, Weis said the busy metropolis of Wuhan was "full of life."</p><p>"Everything was full of people. And suddenly after the outbreak ... the streets were empty," Weis noted.</p><p>He added that, despite the sudden shift in daily life in the city, people reacted calmly to the changes.</p><p>"Everyone was very silent and calm, but there was definitely no panic," he said.</p><p>There have been 10 confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany so far, most of which are based in the southern state of Bavaria.</p><p>China has effectively shut down the city of Wuhan and many surrounding provinces and municipalities in a bid to halt the spread of the virus.</p><p>At least 361 people have died from the coronavirus so far, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-death-toll-overtakes-sars-epidemic/a-52235316" target="_blank">surpassing the SARS epidemic</a> that left 249 dead between 2002 and 2003.</p><p>More than 17,000 people in China are currently infected, with more than 24 countries also reporting cases.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="86bd3497e82c20885148fb13ceb3b748"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zQf2waHZwMw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-coronavirus-evacuee-describes-life-in-quarantine/a-52241442?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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The Boxberg Power Station in Germany, which burns lignite coal, on Oct. 13, 2019. Hans-Jörg von Schroeter / Flickr
Germany reached an agreement Thursday that will allow it to stop burning coal by 2038.
<p>The national government struck a deal with the leaders of the country's coal-producing regions that will compensate workers, companies and regional governments more than 40 billion euros (approximately $44.7 billion), <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-germany-coal-idUSKBN1ZF0OS?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR16kBznDpoF6lhlsOpZe-K96qKXVHXq5_ylg6Fb4TGmc8KS4ZaF334qyXw" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. Legislation finalizing the coal phaseout will be presented to parliament by the end of January.</p><p>"Germany, one of the strongest and most successful industry nations in the world, is taking huge steps towards leaving the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> era," Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said at a press conference reported by Reuters.</p>
<p>The deal will help Germany reach its 2030 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> goals. The country has promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent of 1990 levels by 2030 after failing to meet an earlier goal to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2020, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/world/europe/germany-climate-protection-merkel.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported in September</a>.</p><p>However, green groups argue that the planned coal phaseout is too slow.</p><p>Ann Katrin Schneider from <a href="https://www.foeeurope.org/germany" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth Germany</a> told <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/16/germany-reaches-agreement-to-phase-out-coal-by-2038" target="_blank">Euronews</a> that the 2038 deadline was "much too late."</p><p>Christoph Bals, policy director for the environmental group <a href="https://germanwatch.org/en" target="_blank">Germanwatch</a>, agreed.</p><p>"The majority of the necessary reductions are being pushed to the end of the 2020s," he told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/climate/germany-coal-climate-change.html?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_MBE_p_20200117&section=whatElse?campaign_id=51&instance_id=15252&segment_id=20400&user_id=d8eb7cee9d3c5ab39515239b6ec54d19&regi_id=88631294ion=whatElse" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> Thursday.</p>
<p>Germany is currently the world's leading producer of brown lignite coal, the dirtiest type of coal. The government said it may move up its phaseout of brown coal to 2035, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51133534" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>.</p><p>To make an end to coal use possible, the government has agreed to pay up to 40 billion euros to the coal-producing regions of Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in the east and North-Rhine Westphalia in the west, Reuters reported. Most of that money will go towards building new infrastructure in areas reliant on coal power and retraining workers for new jobs, according to BBC News.</p><p>Companies will be compensated 4.35 billion euros (approximately $4.84 billion), according to Reuters.</p><p>Thirty coal-fired plants in Germany will need to close. The dirtiest and oldest will shutter first, starting with one in Rhineland that will close this year. But the government is also bringing a new coal-fired plant online this year, the Datteln 4 plant that is cleaner than the older plants being retired. The new plant has angered activists, who think it moves the country in the wrong direction.</p>
<p>"Australia's forests are burning, millions of people are demonstrating for climate protection and the German government is clearing the way for a new coal power plant,'' Martin Kaiser, the managing director of <a href="https://www.greenpeace.de/" target="_blank">Greenpeace Germany</a>, told Euronews. "Nothing shows more clearly than Datteln 4 that this government can't find an answer to the climate crisis.''</p><p>However, Germany isn't only working to end its coal use. It has also promised to end its reliance on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear-energy" target="_self">nuclear energy</a> by 2022, The New York Times reported.</p><p>In the third quarter of 2019, Germany got 14 percent of its energy from nuclear, 28 percent from coal and 42 percent from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a>. It aims to raise the share of its electricity generated by renewables to 65 percent by 2030, according to Euronews.</p><p>Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said the country would need a "massive expansion of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind" target="_self">wind</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" target="_self">solar</a>" to enable it to transition away from both coal and nuclear.</p><p>"We are the first country that is exiting nuclear and coal power on a binding basis, and this is an important international signal that we are sending,'' she told Euronews.</p>
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The monkey house at the Krefeld Zoo in Germany burns on Jan. 1. Alexander Forstreuter / picture alliance via Getty Images
At least 30 animals died early New Year's Day in a fire at a monkey house at a zoo in Krefeld, Germany, The New York Times reported.
<p>The Great Ape House had housed orangutans, chimpanzees, lowland gorillas, rodents, marmosets and birds before it burned down a little after midnight Wednesday.</p><p>"Our worst fears have become reality," the zoo wrote in a Facebook post reported by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/01/gorillas-orangutans-and-chimps-die-in-german-zoo-fire" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>The zoo <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zookrefeld/posts/2438474122931246?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBMm3y1ZKtzLU1LHUSzqyIRDf13K89DhF9MZJXz610OrkDM7vs5C-4oRls7tQd91YhuwlmNacRW3K5MURrboguYWYs48vIrMP08lvOTCu5U8vNfuW1RH-8Vh0iVRuFBrjjuUy4yTKMsINhRpkbWF_HM-c7uX5eZJzFCflW2Lnlz4bEPslbCWpN42adqI4b7SzBh4Hkf1KViGvWwuMQhHvU2awBvfp-oW4NRLnVcuzUipygi9ltxA5tBDPrMAfE1iMtw4grzL9bPYYczFfGjGWEw23W8l85u-OoFhzQh2rg5Fp4qoTkcEnF4yvjAbzAIeaMQW5iKHP35jvbxWQ4U4g&__tn__=-R" target="_blank">originally wrote</a> that all the animals in the enclosure had been killed, but later <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zookrefeld/posts/2439516992826959?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDUYSoGZbTKEALubhBsl7YdSdh5RaRuIbLcKfTr0uIwwyLhYmCDnoojg6HgEBAZxyzJM7wwxEhzm8i6w_bT0_4llrWcPDYCsaeI6Iv5eEbejAj06T2n4XsZ3KEVTqsMPXSQi2myOxBNGJ70Nk9GcqVPRBAWrFYL3Eqv2hqkfE5rrTgPoVSC9Jg7RPWUmZqhnSV7nK3Tr7rR43DqF-B_8nvW71vlqvQMEYAI2pbX98mTfICvdtwXZelZ-Fr4iVLlGoTQkaHwSaYOxQ7rqWQRNTXzN0sWp9OyOLTzmVqfkwi_SnboS6lGHsdbjqQ8-ovcqO9mnbhLhGDTfU3eujIQ_w&__tn__=-R" target="_blank">discovered</a> that two chimpanzees had survived with only light wounds.</p><p>"The chimpanzees Bally and Limbo miraculously survived the devastating fire," the zoo said, according to The New York Times.</p><p>An open-air gorilla enclosure close to the destroyed monkey house was spared, along with popular silverback Kidogo and his family, The Guardian reported. However, another silverback, 48-year-old Massa, who was the oldest silverback in the European <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> breeding program, died.</p><p>All told, the fire killed five orangutans, one chimpanzee, two gorillas and smaller monkeys and flying foxes, <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/01/01/monkeys-killed-in-massive-blaze-at-german-zoo" target="_blank">Euronews reported</a>.</p><p>"An unbelievable tragedy rolled us shortly after midnight," the zoo wrote of the fire, according to Euronews.</p><p>Local residents reported the fire at 12:38 a.m. Wednesday, but firefighters were not able to control the flames before they had consumed all but the scaffolding of the monkey house, according to The Guardian. However, the firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other zoo buildings, <a href="https://www.thelocal.de/20200101/fire-kills-30-animals-at-german-zoo-on-new-years-eve" target="_blank">The Local Germany reported</a>.</p><p>A video posted on social media showed the fire reaching treetops, according to Euronews.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6c3bce2f44e4802286d171d42e55350e"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/welovekrefeld/videos/747452269074986/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p>The zoo remained closed Wednesday and Thursday.</p><p>"[W]e would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming wave of compassion and offers of help that reach us online and offline," the zoo wrote when it announced Thursday's closure.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd5d8214a9bd29be2d06d1888b16db08"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/zookrefeld/photos/rpp.257886014323412/2440278096084182/?type=3&theater"></div></div>
<p>Police are investigating the fire, and think it might have been caused by sky lanterns that were released into the air to celebrate the New Year.</p><p>"People reported seeing those sky lanterns flying at low altitude near the zoo and then it started burning," Gerd Hoppmann, the head of Krefeld's criminal police, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-50964956" target="_blank">told BBC News</a>.</p><p>Used lanterns were also found near the enclosure.</p><p>It is illegal to sell the lanterns in every German state except Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the east, The Guardian reported.</p><p>The enclosure was built in 1975 and measured 21,500 square feet, according to BBC News. It was designed to mimic a tropical rainforest environment.</p>
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Germany Will Close All of Its Nuclear Power Plants, but Needs to Put Its Nuclear Waste Somewhere
02 December 2019
Energy
Nuclear Power Plant Isar II in Bavaria, Germany seen from sky. brewbooks / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
All seven of Germany's nuclear power plants are slated to close by 2022, but questions remain about where the European country can safely bury nearly 28,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste that will stay there for the next million years, as CNN reported.
<p>The decision to close the country's nuclear plants came after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in March 2011. Japan is still struggling to cool and to contain the nuclear waste from the plant, which is part of the reason that Germany is wrestling with the puzzle of where to offload nearly 2,000 containers of nuclear waste, which measures about six Big Bens.</p>
<p>The site that Germany chooses for the nuclear waste must be completely impervious to water and safe enough not to leak in the event of an earthquake, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. </p>
<p>It needs to find a repository that "offers the best possible safety and security for a period of a million years," said Germany's Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. </p>
<p>Professor Miranda Schreurs, who is part of the team searching for a storage site, called the puzzle a "wicked problem," and added that the storage site needs to be beyond rock solid. There are remarkable technological challenges in solving the issue, such as transporting the waste, finding a way to encase it, and even letting generations far off in the future know that it is there, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. </p>
<p>"We need to find a way to tell them 'curiosity is not good here,'" said Schreurs to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. She added that the site must be "very, very stable. It can't have earthquakes, it can't have any signs of water flow, it can't be very porous rock." </p>
<p>Ideally, Germany would store the waste in granite, but the country does not have rich deposits of granite, according to India-based <a href="https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/germany-to-close-all-its-nuclear-power-plants-in-coming-years.html" target="_blank">Republic World</a>.</p>
<p>However, all those problems need to be solved in tandem with a communications challenge — how Germany will convince one of its communities to bury the nuclear waste in its backyard. </p>
<p>The challenges for a nuclear graveyard need to be solved by the government's deadline of 2031 when a final repository for all the nuclear waste must be chosen. The project of transporting and securing the waste will then continue for generations. The storage facility is scheduled to be sealed somewhere between 2130 and 2170, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. </p>
<p>The scientists and policy makers have a short window for finding an appropriate site for the waste that is sure to rankle a voting bloc somewhere within the country. Germany has vowed not to export the waste, but it faces deep skepticism and mistrust at home after an ignominious history with storage sties, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. </p>
<p>Salt mines in eastern Germany that were used for low- and medium-level nuclear waste are failing to reach safety standards, which raises the concern over the prospect of storing high-level waste. </p>
<p>For decades, residents in the northeast part of Germany have fought to keep high-level nuclear waste out of its area, going so far as to block train lines that were carrying nuclear waste to a temporary facility, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. </p>
<p>"If we did not build this big, strong and long-lasting resistance, I think the salt mine would already be used," said Kerstin Rudek, 51, who has campaigned against a permanent nuclear repository in Lower Saxony for the last 35 years, to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/30/europe/germany-nuclear-waste-grm-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. She plans to continue her fight, adding, "they haven't canceled out Gorleben completely, so we are very suspicious it might still be chosen."</p>
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