The German Energiewende (energy transition) – once an international model – threatens to disintegrate. Now is the time to develop a common European energy strategy, experts say. PES reports.
“Germany would be well-advised to start looking beyond the edge of its nose on energy policy”, warned Bert Rürup, former “economic wise man” and director of the Handelsblatt Research Institute recently.
Rürup’s statement came during the presentation of the most comprehensive international comparative study on energy policy that has been conducted up till now. Conducted by the Handelsblatt Research Institute on behalf of General Electric, the study reveals a surprising result: Germany is losing its leading international role in energy policy and the prestigious Energiewende project threatens to fall
to pieces.
In the Federal Republic, the energy issue is being debated from purely national viewpoints and is dominated by the feeling that all other countries could learn from the Germans, Rürup explained.
In fact Germany was envied and admired for a long time for its Energiewende, indicated Stephan Reimelt, president and managing director of GE Energy Deutschland. But those times are over now; admiration from abroad has turned to “ridicule”, said Reimelt, and “that is dramatic”.
Who outranked Germany?
The Handelsblatt Research Institute monitored 24 industrialised and newly industrialising countries over a span of five years, looking at 51 different indicators.
In the end, the researchers condensed the data into two overall rankings: mapping the status quo, and tracing the trend of the past five years.
