Berlin: On 4 May 2018, BUND presented a shutdown plan for nuclear power plants (NPPs) and coal-fired power plants. This analysis shows that the decommissioning of the most climate-damaging coal-fired power plants by 2020 and a significant acceleration of the nuclear phase-out in Germany are possible without jeopardising security of supply. "The shutdown plan is a call to action for the political actors to finally take action," explains BUND Chair Hubert Weiger at the presentation of the shutdown plan in Berlin.
In the shutdown plan, BUND has drawn up a concrete performance balance and names power plants as well as annual figures for the shutdown. The focus is on the years 2020 and 2023. This period is considered to be a particular challenge for supply security, since on the one hand it is the legal date for the phase-out of nuclear power. On the other hand, a good half of the coal-fired power plants must be taken off the grid in order to achieve the German climate target for 2020.
The BUND shutdown plan shows that this is possible and that significantly more coal-fired power plants can be taken off the grid in the short term than has been discussed so far, and that this can also be combined with a significant acceleration of the nuclear phase-out. As a result, the power surplus in Germany is declining, but the supply remains guaranteed even in hours without sun and with little wind. "In the first quarter of 2018, Germany exported on average the electricity production of five large power plants. Against this background alone, it is surprising that the new federal government has not agreed on the short-term decommissioning of the most climate-damaging coal-fired power plants," says the BUND chairman. "We want to show with our analysis that much more is possible if the political will is there."
The BUND shutdown plan shows that security of supply can be ensured if politicians do not continue to wait, but actively promote the energy transition in parallel to the shutdowns. The calculations of the power balance are mainly based on values from, for example, the Federal Network Agency or the transmission system operators. Deviations and other assumptions are justified. "With our analysis, we want to provide an important impetus for a transparent debate within the framework of the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act and the coal phase-out commission that is being constituted," explains Weiger.
In a shutdown list for coal-fired power plants, BUND proposes the units that would have to be taken off the grid first in order to achieve the 2020 climate target. It concerns all larger coal-fired power plants that were connected to the grid before 1990, in order to reduce the coal capacity on the electricity market to 20 gigawatts. As a new measure to enable a socially acceptable coal phase-out and to safeguard security of supply in extreme situations, the environmental association proposes the introduction of an additional coal phase-out reserve of six to eight gigawatts.
"The Paris Climate Agreement requires the phase-out of coal before 2030. The federal government is responsible for achieving the climate targets, it must enshrine the phase-out in law and ensure a just structural change. To achieve the 2020 climate target, it must now launch an immediate programme. Waiting any longer is irresponsible," continued the BUND chair. Due to the inactivity of climate policy in recent years, the German "climate problem" has become increasingly acute. According to the latest emission forecasts, the German climate protection target for 2020 will be missed by ten percentage points.
At the same time as the coal phase-out, the nuclear power plants can also be taken off the grid more quickly than required by law. The seven nuclear power plants that are currently still connected to the grid represent a constant safety risk for the population and must be decommissioned as soon as possible. So far, however, the federal government does not want to use the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act to really accelerate the nuclear phase-out. "BUND demands an immediate nuclear phase-out. At the very least, the current revision of the Atomic Energy Act must be used to legally prohibit further transfers of electricity volumes," says Weiger. Without this transfer, the nuclear power plants would run for a total of ten years less and the production of 300 tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear waste would be avoided.
Getting out of nuclear power and coal and still securing the energy supply - this is possible if the energy transition is driven forward. "It is a matter of further expanding renewable energies with commitment and creating the energy-economic framework conditions for an energy turnaround that is essentially based on wind energy and photovoltaics," says Weiger. This means an expansion of flexible decentralised CHP power plants, a reduction in electricity consumption, optimised utilisation of the electricity grids and a significant increase in the possibilities for load reduction.
The Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management of Baden-Württemberg is again supporting investments in photovoltaic systems in combination with battery storage with a total of five million euros in the coming year.
It is thus responding to the enormous demand. Since the launch of the "Grid-serving photovoltaic battery storage" funding programme in March of this year, over 2,500 applications have been received. The programme is part of the state government's solar offensive. It ends on 31 December 2019.
"The expansion of battery storage systems has increased significantly. This benefits the climate and the economy in the state. It is important to me to maintain this momentum," said Environment and Energy Minister Franz Untersteller in Stuttgart today (14 December). The state is therefore happy to support investments in solar battery storage.
The Ministry of the Environment draws attention to the fact that the subsidy rates will decrease as planned on 1 January 2019. From the new year, there will be a subsidy of 200 euros (instead of the previous 300 euros) per kWh for storage units in connection with a photovoltaic system with a nominal output of up to 30 kilowatt peak, and 300 euros (instead of 400 euros) per kWh for larger storage units.
As a result of an expert hearing, new funding conditions will apply from 1 February 2019. Investors will receive a bonus of 500 euros for grid-serving charging stations for electric vehicles. The bonus for forecast-based battery management systems, on the other hand, will no longer apply. Photovoltaic systems between ten and 14 kilowatt peak will receive an additional one-time subsidy of 400 euros from the Ministry. Further changes concern the minimum installation ratio and the active power limitation. In addition, the support programme will be opened up to farmers.
"Municipalities are crucial drivers for the sustainable development of our society," explains Dr. Werner Schnappauf, Chairman of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE). "All 17 sustainability goals are directly or indirectly related to the tasks of a municipality. The new reporting framework sustainable municipality, the BNK, can be a great help for further progress in the field of sustainability", says Schnappauf.
From the municipal side, there has long been great interest in a tool for good sustainability reporting. Many municipalities have already developed sustainability strategies, for example within the framework of the project "Globally Sustainable Municipality" of the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) of Engagement Global. However, until now there has been no instrument to evaluate the implementation of the strategies and to adjust them if necessary. The Dialogue "Sustainable City represented mayors have therefore asked the RNE in 2019 to develop a reporting system that can build on the German Sustainability Code (DNK) for companies. In response, the Sustainability Council, together with the mayors represented in the "Sustainable City" dialogue, the Regional Sustainability Strategy Network (RENN) and a large number of other stakeholders, has developed a "Sustainable Community Reporting Framework" (BNK).
"Based on my many years of experience as a district administrator, it is particularly important to me that the RNE represents an offer for all municipalities and is thus also available to districts. We are pleased that the RNE has also been cooperating closely with the districts since last year," said Schnappauf.
"As municipalities, we are implementing the transformation to sustainability" emphasizes Markus Lewe, Council Member, Lord Mayor of the City of Münster and Vice-President of the German Association of Cities, in the foreword to the BNK handout. "Overall, the BNK focuses on process orientation. It is not about evaluating results or comparing municipalities with each other. It is about moving forward together and the many steps on the way to more sustainability," said Lewe.
The BNK will be tested in joint projects with SKEW and many RENN partners from March 2021. The city of Aschaffenburg will be the first of probably 20 pilot municipalities from all over Germany to prepare its own sustainability report based on the BNK. The kick-off for the Aschaffenburg sustainability report was yesterday's city council meeting. "The city of Aschaffenburg sees itself as a municipality with the responsibility to perform all its tasks in terms of sustainability and thus to be a role model. This responsibility is seen as a cross-sectional task in the administration and the council, in which all citizens also participate, and has a long tradition in Aschaffenburg," said Jürgen Herzing, Lord Mayor of the City of Aschaffenburg and member of the RNE's "Sustainable City" dialogue.
The experiences from the 20 pilot municipalities will be incorporated into the further development of the reporting framework. The publication "Reporting framework for sustainable municipalities" is now available at here.
Source: PM of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) of 4.3.2021
Scientific scenarios for climate neutrality support the strategy and planning of companies on the path to decarbonisation - Using the example of buildings and heating, climate economists at DIW Berlin analyse existing scenarios for climate neutrality - Net Zero scenarios show a clear path for the transformation of companies and the financial sector - With standardised scenarios and transition plans for climate neutrality, banks, funds and insurance companies can make their portfolios fit for the future
Scenario analyses on the climate-neutral transformation of the economy strengthen the strategic entrepreneurial orientation on the path to climate neutrality. In this context, scientific scenarios and standardised reports in particular support companies in bringing their own business model in line with the path to climate neutrality and reporting on it transparently. This forward-looking information also helps the financial sector. Banks, funds and other financial institutions can use standardised scenario analyses and reports on climate neutrality to identify transformation risks in good time. Therefore, they can make their own portfolios resilient and climate neutral and invest in companies on the path to climate neutrality at an early stage, shows a study by climate economists at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). "Scenarios are a scientific starting point for companies to identify transformation levers and thus reduce their emissions as quickly as possible," says Fernanda Ballesteros, researcher in the Climate Policy Department at DIW Berlin.
Net Zero scenarios show clear path for companies with building portfolio
Ballesteros, together with Karsten Neuhoff, Head of DIW Climate Policy, and other researchers, analysed eight studies on possible climate neutrality by institutions as diverse as the Federal Environment Agency, the Federation of German Industries and Agora Energiewende. Using the example of companies with building portfolios, they worked out what the scenarios mean for corporate strategy on the path to climate neutrality.
"If the climate neutrality target is brought forward to 2035, the reporting on a resulting stress test scenario must be comparable to the core scenario." Karsten Neuhoff
"In the scenarios, the annual renovation rate increases from the current level of around one percent to at least 1.5 to two percent or well over two percent by 2045," write the authors of the DIW study. "The share of technologies based on renewable energies already reaches 46 to 55 per cent in 2030 and rises to 94 to 100 per cent by 2045, with heat pumps being the dominant technology with around 50 per cent," results the analysis of the scientific studies. After heat pumps, district heating follows as the central technology in the scenarios with a share of about 20 to 30 per cent. "The Net Zero scenarios show a clear path," says Ballesteros. "A company with a building portfolio can use the scenarios to see what it needs to implement in the building sector to reduce emissions and become climate neutral."
Standards for comparable reporting strengthen the financial industry
It is crucial for the climate-neutral transformation of the economy that companies document the transformation with comparable transition indicators. "With standardised scenarios and uniform reporting, companies can also show and explain deviations from net zero scenarios," says Karsten Neuhoff, Head of the Climate Policy Department at DIW Berlin. "This also supports new techniques and innovative strategies, which is why the German government should also advocate internationally for the standardisation of forward-looking reporting standards and scenario frameworks." In order for the financial sector to also use this information for analyses, comparable reporting on a company's core scenario in the current political environment is required, for example climate neutrality in 2045. However, a company's transition plan should also be resilient to changes in climate policy. Neuhoff: "If the goal of climate neutrality is brought forward to 2035, the reporting on a resulting stress test scenario must be comparable to the core scenario."
Background: EU and G20 negotiate standards for forward-looking climate reporting
In the Climate Protection Act, Germany has committed itself to gradually achieving climate neutrality by 2045. Companies from industry and the service sector must therefore change their production and business practices, and financial institutions must adjust their assessment criteria. In many cases, this requires a new strategic orientation and investments in climate-neutral products, business models and production technologies. For this, companies need capital and support from the financial sector, which plays a central role in achieving climate goals.
In order for investors, civil society organisations and public authorities to understand the investment needs, progress and potential risks of companies on the path to carbon neutrality, companies are expected to provide forward-looking reporting based on scientific evidence and standardised procedures. The science works with scenarios that also provide industrial and service companies as well as banks, funds and insurance companies with comparable information about the transition to a climate-neutral business model and resulting risks. With the help of the scenarios, companies can consider the transition risks and opportunities in their investment decisions. The scenarios enable the financial sector to decarbonise the portfolio step by step and to map company-specific transition risks and opportunities in risk management.
International climate reporting frameworks are already laying the groundwork for a common scenario framework and standards for forward-looking reporting on the path to climate neutrality. For example, the frameworks of the international Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures of the 20 most important industrialised and emerging economies (G20) and the EU, as well as the UK government's Transition Plan Taskforce. Other relevant processes are the negotiations on the planned disclosure requirements of the EU regulatory proposal CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the global sustainability reporting standards of the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board).
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