Greenpeace study: Reduction of climate-damaging subsidies can relieve federal budget by 46 billion euros annually

Published 11 November 2020

*Neurath coal-fired power plant near Grevenbroich in the Rhenish lignite mining region. Steam rises from cooling towers. © Photo: Bernd Lauter / Greenpeace*

Hamburg, 11. 11. 2020 - By phasing out ten particularly climate-damaging subsidies in the energy, transport and agricultural sectors, Germany can generate up to 46 billion euros in revenue annually.

This is the result of a new study by the "Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft" on behalf of Greenpeace. (Study "Ten climate-damaging subsidies in focus" online at: https://bit.ly/2JVu3tq).

A total of almost 100 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents would be saved annually compared to today if the subsidies under consideration were reformed. This is roughly equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from passenger car traffic in Germany. The study appears in the run-up to the publication of the tax estimate by Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced for Thursday. It shows how the federal government can simultaneously reduce the immense new debt caused by the Corona crisis and make progress on climate protection. "Now the German government can kill two birds with one stone by reducing climate-damaging subsidies: lower CO2 emissions and relieve the budget by billions. In doing so, it eliminates significant disadvantages for climate-friendly industries and can accelerate the shift towards a sustainable, ecologically oriented economy," says Bastian Neuwirth, climate expert at Greenpeace.

A ranking examines the phase-out of ten particularly climate-damaging subsidies in Germany and sorts them according to where the most tax money and CO2 can be saved. The abolition of the tax exemption for kerosene, the withdrawal of tax concessions for electricity generation and the reduction of electricity price exemptions for industry prove to be particularly effective for climate protection and budget restructuring. In arithmetical terms, the German government could save around 73 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents and 18 billion euros of taxpayers' money each year with these measures alone. In the middle of the ranking are the VAT exemption for international flights, the distance allowance, the diesel privilege and the reduced VAT rate on animal products. "Continuing to hand out extra money for climate-damaging economic activity is completely out of step with the times. Each of these climate-damaging subsidies must be overturned as soon as possible," says Neuwirth.

Reduction of subsidies makes German 2030 climate target achievable

The gradual dismantling of the ten subsidies that are particularly harmful to the climate can shorten the Federal Government's delay in achieving its own climate targets: according to the Federal Environment Agency, Germany will emit around 71 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents too much in 2030 with the measures it has adopted so far to achieve the 2030 climate target. A rapid reduction in subsidies can therefore help to remedy this situation. At the international level, Germany and the G7 countries already committed in 2016 to reducing climate-damaging subsidies by 2025.

Study: Focus on ten climate-damaging subsidies

How cutting subsidies will advance climate protection and ease the burden on the federal budget. A ranking

Source: Greenpeace-PM from 11. 11. 2020

Keywords: DE-News, Climate protection, Mobility, Sustainable management, New books and studies, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy

Published 16 April 2020

Hydrogen from hydropower: successful start

Energiedienst's power-to-gas plant in Grenzach-Wyhlen is allowed to produce emission-free hydrogen from green electricity as of today. Photo: energiedienst.de

At a hydroelectric power plant operated by the energy company Energiedienst in Grenzach-Wylen, the production of green hydrogen has been running successfully for four months. The project produces 500 kilograms of hydrogen per day.

Hydrogen from hydropower: successful start for one of the largest power-to-gas plants in Germany to date. This is reported by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). The megawatt plant has been in operation for four months in April 2020 and is functioning reliably. A research electrolyser connected to it is also running successfully. The ZSW is coordinating the project. The operator of the commercial plant is the energy supplier Energiedienst AG.

The power-to-gas plant with an electrical connected load of one megawatt produces renewable hydrogen using electricity from the Rhine hydroelectric power plant in Wyhlen. Since it is not necessary to use the public electricity grid, grid fees and the EEG surcharge do not apply. In addition, high full load hours can be achieved because the hydropower is available practically around the clock. This further improves the economic efficiency and enables extensive operating experience to be gained quickly.

He said the plant has been running regularly since early December 2019 and has had 1,850 hours of operation since then. Previously, it was in trial operation. The monitoring system set up by the ZSW, which measures all essential components and subsystems, functions perfectly. The plant operates fully automatically in 24-hour operation both at full load and in various partial load conditions.

Efficiency of 66 percent

The ZSW monitors operation with the help of remote data transmission to Stuttgart and automated data evaluation. The overall efficiency of electricity to high-purity hydrogen compressed to 300 bar is currently up to 66 percent in relation to the calorific value of the gas. In addition, the researchers are investigating ageing effects and deriving potential improvements from the data.

So far, the plant has filled 62 trailers with hydrogen suitable for fuel cells. Each of these transportable containers holds around 300 kilograms. The plant can produce up to 500 kilograms of hydrogen per day. This is enough for an average daily mileage of more than 1,000 fuel cell cars.

Improved electrolysis

The research project docked to the commercial plant is also progressing positively. In a research plant, the scientists are testing improved electrolysis blocks with a maximum output of 300 kilowatts in parallel operation with the commercial plant. They should further reduce the price of hydrogen. But companies could also test and optimize components there.

Last year, the ZSW and its research partners already achieved an initial success during the test operation of the plant: with new electrode coatings, the researchers achieved 20 percent more power density compared to the electrolysis blocks of the industrial plant section. This means that less volume and material are required for the same output.

Goal: Halve hydrogen price

Since the investment costs are also based on the construction volume and the electrolysis units account for the largest share of costs in the conversion of renewable electricity at around 40 percent, progress in this area is automatically reflected in the price of hydrogen. For manufacturers of electrolysis plants, development is therefore an important factor for further cost reduction. The long-term goal of the ZSW researchers and Energiedienst engineers is to roughly halve the current production costs of electricity-based hydrogen.

The state of Baden-Württemberg supports the Lighthouse project with a total of 4.5 million euros. In 2019, a project based on this was selected by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology as one of the winners of the first round of the "Reallabore der Energiewende" ideas competition. A total of twelve partners are on board for this major project.

14.4.2020 | Source: ZSW

Keywords:
Energy storage, Research, News Blog Baden-Württemberg, Power-to-Gas, Hydrogen

Published 3 October 2020

DIW-Wärmemonitor: German households heat slightly less - CO2 emissions hardly fall at all

Annual DIW Heat Monitor based on data from energy service provider ista Deutschland GmbH: Heating energy demand in residential buildings declines again for the first time since 2015 - Rising prices, however, cause heating expenditure to increase by 2.4 percent - CO₂emissions have fallen by 21 percent overall since 2010, but by only 2.6 percent when adjusted for temperature - Energy-efficient renovation in residential buildings almost stagnant

Last year - for the first time since 2015 - tenants in Germany used slightly less heating (minus 3.2 per cent). However, at an annual average of 130 kWh per square metre of heated living space, the heating energy requirement in apartment buildings is now only back at the 2010 level. CO₂-emissions have not fallen nearly as much as they would have to in order to achieve the 2030 climate targets: adjusted for temperature, they have only fallen by 2.6 per cent since 2010. These are the key findings of this year's heating monitor calculated by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) on the basis of data from energy service provider ista Deutschland GmbH. They are based on the heating bills of 300,000 multi-party houses in Germany and are adjusted for climate and weather conditions.

"If we only look at the absolute reduction in CO2 emissions, appearances are deceptive" Jan Stede

As energy prices for heating oil and natural gas rose by an average of 5.6 per cent last year, tenants spent 2.4 per cent more on space heating while demand fell. The regional differences in heating energy requirements and prices are very large. In western German households, seven per cent more is heated per square metre than in eastern German households. In 2019, heating energy requirements were highest in the Schleswig-Holstein Southwest and East Frisia regions, and lowest in central Mecklenburg/Rostock and Allgäu. Heating energy cost the most in Saarland and the least in Hamburg.

CO2 emissions fall mainly due to warmer winters

According to the study, there has been a significant overall reduction in CO₂-emissions in the residential building sector have fallen by 20.7 per cent since 2010. However, this is largely due to the warmer winters. Adjusted for temperature and weather conditions, CO₂-emissions have only fallen by 2.6 per cent over the past ten years.

"If we look at the absolute reduction in CO₂-emissions, appearances are deceptive. The reduction of around 21 per cent, which would already make the climate targets unattainable, is hardly due to efforts to increase building efficiency. There is therefore no reason to scale back efforts to reduce emissions," says DIW economist Jan Stede, summarising the results.

"A sober assessment of ten years of building refurbishment shows that energy-efficient refurbishment does not automatically lead to less CO₂. Climate policy measures must provide the right incentives for everyone involved: for landlords to invest and for tenant households to consume sparingly," comments Thomas Zinnöcker, CEO of energy and property service provider ista, on the results of the study. "More focus on results, unbureaucratic implementation and accompanying measures for consumers will make climate protection in buildings more effective."

Cushioning social burdens with a climate premium

Investment in the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing residential buildings is still too low to achieve the climate targets in the building sector. The plan was to increase the refurbishment rate to two per cent per year. Most recently, however, it was only one per cent. While energy-efficient refurbishment still accounted for a third of all measures in the building stock in 2010, in 2019 it was only a quarter.

The authors of the DIW study are therefore calling for stronger incentives for energy-efficient building renovations. "The higher subsidy rate for energy-efficient refurbishment and the planned CO₂-pricing from next year could create additional incentives to invest more in this area again," hopes study author Franziska Schütze. With the CO₂-However, care should be taken to ensure that social effects are cushioned. Tenants, especially those on low incomes, are disproportionately burdened by higher energy prices and have little influence on the building's energy efficiency and energy source. "Reimbursement of the income from the CO₂-pricing in the form of a climate premium would relieve the burden on low and middle incomes and at the same time minimise the incentive effect of higher CO₂-prices," suggests Jan Stede.

Large demonstration in Berlin against rent madness

On Saturday 14.4.2018, around 13,000 to 15,000 people took to the streets in Berlin under the slogan "Resistance - together against displacement and rent madness". 254 initiatives and organizations (see mietenwahnsinn.info/initiativen) called for the protest march. Many Berliners fear for their existence due to high housing costs.
Article "Large demonstration in Berlin - thousands against rent madness" in the taz:
http://taz.de/Grossdemonstration-in-Berlin/!5498560/

3 min. video (Länderspiegel ZDF):
www.zdf.de/...grossdemonstration-in-berlin-rund-13-000-gegen-mietenwahnsinn-100.html

Keywords:
Stakeholders, Construction and operating costs, DE-News, Communities, News Blog Berlin, Social / Culture, Housing policy, Economics

Published 19 March 2018

Young housing cooperatives call for rethinking

Demand Paper of the Alliance of Young Cooperatives Berlin of 9 March 2018

In order to promote the construction of affordable housing, an alliance of young cooperatives was founded in Berlin in 2017. "Housing cooperatives have been a cornerstone of the socially responsible and affordable housing market in Berlin for well over 100 years," notes Bremer Höhe cooperative board member and Alliance spokesman Ulf Heitmann. "In order to maintain the share of cooperative housing alone, which is currently around twelve percent, more than 20,000 cooperative apartments would have to be built in the coming years in view of the rapid population growth," Heitmann calculates.

The alliance also considers the cooperative development of building land in Berlin to be a failure: in order to reduce the rents for one third of the new apartments, the price for the remaining two thirds is being driven up even further - with fatal consequences for the market as a whole.

Moreover, small and medium-sized cooperatives in particular, which have only been operating on the market for a few years, would be systematically thwarted - contrary to what the red-red-green coalition agreement in the capital promised: "The young cooperatives do not have the necessary equity capital for financing overpriced plots of land and for construction. As a result, prospective buyers would have to bring higher deposits - making cooperative building unattractive despite low interest rates." In view of the skyrocketing land prices in Berlin, the new Alliance of Young Cooperatives is calling for completely new allocation procedures and financing instruments.

Good idea instead of even more money

This includes the massive activation of public building land and the allocation via quality and concept procedures instead of a price competition. "The success of the building groups in the first 2000s showed it: social and integrative aspects must play a much greater role if housing construction is to find public acceptance," argues Andreas Barz, co-alliance spokesman and CEO of the Studentendorf Genossenschaft.

In concrete terms, the initiative therefore calls for a scoring procedure to be applied when awarding public building land, in which, for example, low-cost, space-efficient or experimental construction and housing, social criteria such as inclusive housing projects for refugees, intergenerational or student housing, the provision of community facilities such as kindergartens or neighbourhood shops, low-car or ecological housing would be assessed using a points catalogue. The points score would also be rated higher than the price offered. In addition, the alliance of 25 cooperatives advocates diversity in the allocation process and therefore proposes that individual housing cooperatives be allocated a maximum of two public areas.

In addition, the Alliance of Young Housing Cooperatives is calling for equity replacement as a new funding tool. "It would be most effective to provide the young cooperatives with 20 percent of the total costs for land and construction as a lost grant, i.e. as a non-repayable subsidy.

As a further funding instrument for low-income households, the Alliance recommends that cooperative shares also be financed via KfW loans - this would help low-income households in particular, such as single parents or pensioners. "The current practice of building subsidies completely misses their needs. Even new instruments such as the Baukindergeld, which has been discussed for weeks, only benefit those who already have equity capital and collect this state subsidy on the side - those who do not bring any equity capital with them remain outside," Barz complains. "We counter this with the financing of cooperative shares via KfW, in order to also offer low-income earners a perspective on the hotly contested housing market."

About the Alliance of Young Cooperatives Berlin
The Alliance of Young Cooperatives Berlin was launched in the summer of 2017. The alliance includes 25 Berlin building and housing cooperatives - among them well-known citywide cooperatives such as the "Bremer Höhe" eG, the Studentendorf Schlachtensee cooperative, the Möckernkiez cooperative, which will be ready for occupancy this year after a difficult financing phase, and sponsors of internationally renowned projects such as the Spreefeld in the Mitte district.

The demand paper is presented at the recent construction site of the housing cooperative "Am Ostseeplatz" in Lynarstraße, Weddingen, which was one of the winners of the 2015 competition for Experimental Multi-storey Housing in Berlin with this community housing project.

download pdf of the claim paper

Website and contact of the Alliance of Young Cooperatives Berlin
http://junge-genossenschaften.berlin

Keywords:
Stakeholders, Cohousing, News Blog Berlin, Mix of uses, Quarters, Housing policy, Housing projects